V&A Waterfront apologises to DA MP Phumzile van Damme after alleged racist incident

The V&A Waterfront in Cape Town apologised on Tuesday evening to DA MP Phumzile van Damme following an incident earlier in the day where Van Damme punched a young man in an alleged racial incident at the centre.

Van Damme took to Twitter to vent her frustration over what she perceived to be a mishandling of the situation by the Waterfront's managers.

She said she was forced to punch a man "in self-defence" after his family member "was filming me the entire time".

Van Damme tweeted: "Management of V&A Waterfront if you're going to allow racism and racists on your premises, please announce it to all. I will not stand for anyone's racism towards me or anyone. And don't send me some PR clichéd response either, ACTION."

In a tweet on Tuesday evening, the management of the V&A Waterfront unreservedly apologised to Van Damme for the treatment she received from its security manager, who intervened during the altercation with a family of visitors to the shopping centre.

Van Damme accepted the apology.

She also announced on Twitter that she would be laying charges at the police station on Wednesday.

PODCAST: Sunday Times Politics Weekly - Public Protector plays politics?

For more episodes, click here.

Subscribe: iono.fm | Spotify | Apple Podcast | Pocket Casts | Player.fm