Thousands of protesters have taken to one of Cape Town‘s most picturesque beaches after private security guards were accused of ordering black visitors to leave.
The guards, hired by local residents, allegedly cleared the Clifton 4th beach of tourists on Sunday evening. Demonstrators say black beachgoers were unfairly targeted, but the firm denies closing the beach and says it only acts to protect residents from crime. Beaches and other public areas were segregated during the apartheid era. Cape Town Mayor Dan Plato said that the security firm “had no authority to ask anyone to leave Clifton beach”.
“We will not allow any private organisations to limit access to our public spaces,” he said in a statement. Deputy Police Minister Bongani Mkongi vowed to “go hard on the security company”. “This is a property of the state, property of the people and therefore we don’t need security companies here,” he said. Mayor Plato said that the guards had “asked people of all races to leave” and had not targeted black people specifically.
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