Richard's Bay Tops Masks

Photo: Twitter

Watch: Well-known Richard’s Bay resident starts fight over ‘face masks’

Something of a minor celebrity in Richard’s Bay, Sheldon Cramer went viral for all the wrong reasons this week after getting upset about SA’s ‘mask laws’.

Richard's Bay Tops Masks

Photo: Twitter

A well-known dagga activist could have done with something to ‘mask’ his anger this week, after he sparked a physical confrontation outside of a Tops liquor store in Richard’s Bay. Sheldon Cramer – also known as “Bobby Greenhash” – filmed himself goading the security staff when they wouldn’t let him enter.

Who is Sheldon Cramer?

Cramer turned up to the store without a face mask on, and he was prohibited from picking up his booze. This enraged the unhappy shopper, who then started accusing other workers of not wearing the right protection. One member of the workforce corrects Cramer, who falsely accused the employee of not having his own mask.

Whatever point the activist is trying to make falls flat, and fast. A friend of his, known as Bones, then gets extremely confrontational with the guard, who decides he’s had enough of the obnoxious behaviour. Fists are thrown, and one of the agitators is thrown to the ground – prompting Cramer to play the victim:

Watch: Richard’s Bay man starts fight over masks

Do South Africans need to wear a mask in public?

The whole 140-second clip is an exercise in maddening frustration. There are some truly nasty undertones featured in the video, and what’s more, the self-confessed ‘legal expert’ gets his facts wrong.

Cramer claims that South Africans “do not have to wear a mask to go shopping”. He’s gravely mistaken. The correct information was published in the latest amendments to the National Disaster Act. It’s worth noting that, following a court judgement on Tuesday, Level 3 regulations still remain in place for the time being:

“A person must wear a cloth face mask or a homemade item that covers the nose and mouth when in a public place, or another appropriate item to cover the nose and mouth.

“No person will be allowed to use any form of public transport, or enter a building, place or premises if they do not wear a cloth face mask or a homemade item that covers the nose and mouth when in a public place, or another appropriate item to cover the nose and mouth.”

Richard’s Bay agitator apologises for behaviour

In an act of contrition, Cramer has since posted an apology on his Facebook page. Social media users accused the Richard’s Bay resident of behaving in a ‘racist’ manner – something he has strenuously denied:

“There are those that accuse me of racism, anybody who knows me in Richard’s Bay knows that is so not true. What is true, is that in retrospect, what we did was wrong. I have no beef with the security guard, and apologies were extended to him the next day. This was intended to be a statement of protest against masks”

“Someone decided to leak this video, I agree, the video is ugly, and it should have never become violent. For my part in this, I sincerely apologise and I am prepared to face the consequence, whatever they may be. Judge me if you wish, but judge me on all of my actions, not just the stupid ones. I am human.”

Sheldon Cramer