Durban clubs block disabled athletes for 'safety reasons'

Two Durban nightclubs have angered two sportsmen in wheelchairs by limiting their access - for fear they would endanger themselves and other patrons.

The Velvet Lounge barred former Sharks rugby player Cedric Mkhize from an upstairs space and the Cuba Lounge told Paralympian Justin Govender that he was not welcome at the bar or on the dance floor.

The QuadPara Association of South Africa, which promotes the interests of people with impaired mobility, called on owners of clubs to comply with legislation that requires buildings to be wheelchair-friendly.

"All we want is to be part of a normal society," said Raven Benny, chairman of the association. "We don't want to be excluded."

Mkhize, who was paralysed in a car accident in 2007, said the management at Velvet Lounge had discriminated against him by not allowing him into the upper level of the double-storey venue when he went there on December 15.

"Just as two of my friends were about to carry me in my wheelchair up a flight of stairs, a man told us that wheelchair-bound persons were not permitted to use the upper level as it was dangerous."

Mkhize said the man first swore at the bouncer for having allowed in a person in a wheelchair, then swore at him [Mkhize] and asked him to leave.

Chris Munsami, the manager of Velvet Lounge, denied asking Mkhize to leave and said he could not allow people to carry him up 19 stairs. "I am here to protect his safety and that of other clients at the venue."

Govender and his wife, Celes, went to Cuba Lounge last Saturday to join friends .

Govender said the manager initially refused them entry but then offered them a table near the entrance. The manager asked him not to go to the bar or onto the dance floor "as I would be a hazard to other patrons".

Shalin Simon, owner of Cuba Lounge, said that on a previous visit Govender had been a nuisance on the dance floor, bumping into other people.

"We told him he was welcome to come in but this is the area allocated to him," said Simon.

"Safety and security came first. It was very busy and if something happened, then it would be a problem," said Simon.