clifton beach cape town

Twitter / DJNewSouthAfrica

Clifton Beach security team say racism claims are part of a “political ploy”

Who doesn’t love a good conspiracy? PPA have gone public with their version of events from Clifton Beach, saying that no racism occurred on their patrol.

clifton beach cape town

Twitter / DJNewSouthAfrica

Professional Protection Alternatives (PPA) have broken their silence on the race issue that dominated South African headlines over Christmas. Alwyn Landman is the chief of the security firm, who have been accused of ushering PoC citizens off of Clifton Beach at the behest of their white employers.

Speaking to the Sunday Times this weekend, Landman was intent on setting the record straight, claiming that the firm are taking legal action against journalists who shared “false information”.

Clifton Beach – PPA speak out:

In fact, the firm’s head honcho was certain that the whole incident reeked of conspiracy. One of those allegedly lead away from the beach was ANC Western Cape leader Faiez Jacobs. He was adamant that his group was treated unfairly due to their race, but Landman is having none of it.

“It’s unsubstantiated fake news which caused unnecessary, unwarranted and uncalled for demonstrations and dissension amongst racial groups. This was a political ploy which has done huge damage to the tourist industry and the country.”

Alwyn Landman

Security firm say there was “no racism” during Clifton patrol

The PPA executive also disputed Jacobs’ version of events. The latter stated that people were ejected from Clifton Beach at 20:00 on Saturday 23 December. However, Landman has since shared photos taken at 20:30 on the same evening, which show a diverse range of people still on the sands.

Tensions truly boiled over after Boxing Day, where the ritual sacrifice of a sheep at the beach left South Africans divided. The slaughter was seen as a symbolic gesture of slaying the ills of racism by protesters, but others were left aghast at the sight of an animal being killed in a public place.

Cape Town Mayco Member JP Smith confirmed that the sacrifice was an illegal practice, contravening a bylaw which prohibits the slaughter of an animal in a public space without consent. Protest leader Chumani Maxwele is likely to face criminal charges over the incident.