Deputy ambassador ‘verbally assaulted’ in Pretoria

Monzer Selim, who has been stationed in South Africa for six months, said he tried to park between two poorly parked vehicles at the Lynnwood Bridge shopping centre last week, Rekord Eastreported.

“The two cars, a Citroën C1 and a Mazda CX-5 that had just been parked, were both poorly parked. As I was trying to manoeuvre into the space, a car guard explained to the gentleman in the Mazda that he was parked incorrectly and that I was trying to get in,” Selim said.

The man in the Mazda then apparently noticed the diplomatic registration plates, got out of his car and started verbally abusing Selim.

“He said ‘you f****** diplomats shouldn’t be here. Go back to your own country.’ I stayed in my car for quite some time, but he kept verbally abusing me. When I got out of my car to try and get him to stop, he walked up to me and kept on shouting obscenities,” he said.

The owner of the Citroën, a woman, then joined in the abuse of Selim. He said he tried to take photos of the woman, who then attempted to slap her.

“I started calling diplomatic police [and] she took one or two pictures. The guy and a woman who was with him in his car walked away and went into the centre. The woman then eventually also walked away.”

Selim said this was an isolated incident and a vocal minority did not reflect the sentiment of the nation.

“Unfortunately there are still prejudiced, racist and xenophobic people in the world. Though this has happened, it does not change my perception of South Africans,” he said.

He added he has filed a report with the department of international relations and cooperation (Dirco).

Dirco spokesperson Nelson Kgwete said the matter was being investigated.

“When the Egyptian embassy informed us what had happened, we immediately informed the diplomatic police. They have since confirmed they are investigating into the matter,” Kgwete said.

– Caxton News Service