Edgars store boss in hot water

The manager of a Durban Edgars store claims she was just doing her job by confronting a customer suspected of having a fake identity book and has denied the women's claims that it was motivated by racism and discrimination.

But, the customer, Zanele Mkhize, of Chatsworth, insisted in Durban's Equality Court on Tuesday that Chatsworth store manager Catharina Vorster had singled her out because she was black

Mkhize laid a complaint against Vorster and Edcon (the parent company of Edgars) with the court after the incident in August 2006.

Testifying before Magistrate Cecilia Peer on Tuesday, Mkhize said she had opened an account at Jet Stores (part of the Edcon group).

She had been given a buying limit of R1 500 and had gone to Edgars to buy a cellphone.

After initially dealing with staff at the cellphone counter and handing over her Jet card and her identity book, she had been summoned to Vorster's office.

Mkhize testified that Vorster had been accused of having a fake ID book. When she denied that, Vorster had told her "you have a big mouth... most of the black people in this shop have big mouths".

She said Vorster also accused her of not being South African, of buying the ID book and of wanting to use it to open accounts and buy goods fraudulently, and to get a child support grant.

She said Vorster had pointed to the fact that there was a firearm licence in her ID book and had wanted to know if she had a gun.

She also alleged that Vorster had called a policeman, who had rummaged through her bag without her permission.

Vorster then blocked her account.

"The following day I went back to the Jet store and asked to see the manager. She said a lot of customers 'had a problem with Cathy' and issued me with a new card," Mkhize said.

While Vorster has yet to testify at the hearing, in her affidavit before the court she said suspicions regarding the ID book had initially been raised by the cellphone salesman.

"The book was put under a UV light and it reflected that the picture had been placed over the coat of arms, not the other way round. He reported his concerns to me and I called Mkhize to my office.

"I asked her where she got the book and what she had paid for it, because it costs R120 to get one from home affairs. She said she had got it from Home Affairs but denied paying anything for it. I explained the problem with the coat of arms."

Comment

Vorster said a Captain Anderson from the police had co-incidentally come into the store to talk about unrelated criminal activities and had looked at the ID book.

He had noticed the gun licence and asked Mkhize if she owned a gun, and commented that the book was "obviously a fraud".

She said because Mkhize had not bought anything, she had not pressed charges, but blocked the account.

"I told her that we were experiencing major problems with fraud. I explained that, under the circumstances, I was not prepared to let her use her card and told her to go back to home affairs to resolve her problems with her ID.

"I was shocked and surprised by her allegations that I was racist. I am not a racist. I work at a store where most customers are black," she said, denying making comments about Mkhize having a "big mouth" or not being South African.

Mkhize did not bring her ID book to court on Tuesday, as requested, and the matter was adjourned until March 19.

• This article was originally published on page 4 of The Mercury on February 20, 2008