Moja Café accused of stripping menstruating waitress over unpaid R3K bill
The restaurant says it is investigating the incident in which a female supervisor searched a waitress who was accused of stealing money.
South Africans are calling for Moja Café in Soweto to be boycotted after a female waitress was allegedly stripped naked over an unpaid R3,000 bill. The waitress sent poet Ntsiki Mazwai a voice note in which she alleged a group of people walked out of the restaurant without paying their bill due to management allegedly taking “too long” to print it out.
She was then accused of having stolen the money, an accusation which was investigated by her female colleague, who took her to another room and asked her to strip naked. She said she was even asked to remove her pad as she was on her period.
She alleged: “I was harassed in a way that they thought the money was with me. I was taken to a storeroom and I was told to remove all my clothes and they didn’t find anything. Worst part, I was on my period and the woman requested that my pad must be out and she’s a colleague of mine, how am I gonna work with her after everything?
“Even the apology, I haven’t heard a sincere one, I don’t think they understand how I feel, I was told to strip butt-naked to check if I had the money or not. I don’t know what to do at this point, should I take it to the cops? I don’t think they are taking it as I do and how I feel. I had to remove my pad and put it on the table and I felt as if I was a criminal.
“How long have I been working with these people for them to make me strip over [a] 3 point something bill. I’ve never felt this pain, I felt humiliated.”
Guys last night I got a call from a woman crying and in distress. She went on to tell me she works at Moja Cafe where they are abusive to staff. The other night they accused her of stealing a bill and made her strip naked. They even made her show them her soiled pad. Pls help.
— NtsikiMazwaiMedia (@ntsikimazwai) March 27, 2019
Mazwai shared the voice note on social media and called out the shisa nyama. It has been trending since.
Responding to Mazwai, the restaurant said it was investigating the incident “thoroughly”.
“We acknowledge this matter and the sensitivities thereof and are investigating it thoroughly. What we can confirm for now is that a female staff member was searched by a female supervisor on suspicion of theft, in a private room with no cameras, it was just the two females in the room.
“Moja Cafe management affirms that respect for staff and customers is mandatory and of primary importance. Thank You,” it said.
https://twitter.com/MojaCafe/status/1110634802934353920
Also read: WATCH: Video of Khune offering to buy Soweto pubs divides opinion
But South Africans were still not having any of it. These were some of the comments on social media:
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