'God's law' racist Sodwana Bay Guest House closes its doors

28 June 2016 - 16:59 By Matthew Savides

The controversial Sodwana Bay Guest House - which refused access to black people and government employees - has officially shut its doors. This is according to owner Andre Slade‚ who said in a text message on Tuesday: "The guest house was shut down yesterday. Now we only receive friends and family." His confirmation‚ made after TMG Digital asked to book in on Tuesday night‚ came the day before the Kwazulu-Natal provincial government - led by newly elected MEC for economic development and tourism‚ Sihle Zikalala - was set to confront Slade about the guest house's racist policy. The ANC said at a press conference earlier on Tuesday that “harsh action” had to be taken against Slade. TMG Digital understands that this would include revoking the business’s licence. At a press conference in Durban on Tuesday morning‚ ANC provincial secretary Supa Zuma said that the party was deeply concerned that KZN continued to dominate headlines when it came to racist incidents. “The recent racism at the Sodwana Bay guest house undermines the progress we have made to build a non-racial society in our province‚” he said.Last week‚ a screenshot of an email sent by the guest house's owner‚ Andre Slade‚ went viral after it stated that black South Africans and government employees were not welcome at the northern KZN facility. In interviews during the week he confirmed this policy.His comments and the policy are being investigated by the SA Human Rights Commission.“We need urgent and harsh action against the owner. Our struggle for freedom was essentially a struggle against white supremacy‚ and we cannot allow a re-emergence of racism to define our national discourse‚” said Zuma. Slade did not answer a follow-up question about why he had taken the decision to shut down his business...

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