'I am ashamed‚' says bar brawler after race clash caught on camera

Racial tensions are understood to be at the heart of a viral video of a brawl outside a Hillcrest bar‚ west of Durban‚ on Tuesday night.

A 25-second video clip that has gone viral shows two men in a heated exchange of words before one – seemingly unprovoked – strikes his unsuspecting opponent with his elbow.

The aggressor‚ who spoke to TimesLIVE on condition of anonymity‚ said that he had feared for his safety.

“I heard one of his friends say‚ ‘Ya‚ we’ll stab them‚’ and I had been stabbed before and I wanted to leave the whole thing. I was outnumbered and I heard them talk about stabbing me‚” he said.

“I’m ashamed ... obviously I was in the wrong. I shouldn’t have done that and I messed up. I should have walked away.”

The man said that the tense standoff could be traced back to when they had arrived at the bar.

“We got out the car and these guys had just parked ... There were about four or five of them. As I got out the car ... I had a friend with me ... I heard them say‚ ‘Check these white trash boys‚’ or something like that.”

“And I said‚ excuse me‚ and they walked off. I approached them in the bar because I wanted to know what they had said to me. They got a little bit cheeky and they went outside and I was under the influence.”

He said that all he wanted to do was walk away from the situation.

“I wanted to walk away and I just retaliated after he wouldn’t let me leave. I went to the police station but I haven’t reported it ... I wanted to know if he had reported it.”

- Know more about this incident? E-mail the reporter: wicksj@tisoblackstar.co.za