The Sunday News
Bruce Ndlovu, Sunday News Reporter
STAFFERS at a city nightspot have come under the spotlight for physical abuse of female patrons, with allegations that bouncers at the joint manhandled female revellers with unjustifiable force.
Bouncers at the pub on Friday allegedly found themselves in a dramatic exchange with two revellers which eventually turned violent. Ms Phillipa Mhike said she was at out the joint when she found herself at the mercy of the bouncers, following a disagreement with one of the bartenders.
“Yes, I was with my sister-in-law last night. We ordered our drinks and then wanted our change, the bar tender advised that they did not have change. We then opted to use a smaller note to pay and we had to get US$5 as change.
The girl at the bar said she had no change and we asked what do we do because we wanted to leave. My sister-in-law insisted that we wanted our money and the next thing we were being pushed around at the bar by the bouncers and said to be vandalising property. We were both carried and pushed out as if we had done something wrong,” she said.
Ms Mhike said instead of trying to defuse the situations, the bouncers had escalated the bust-up and, in the process, they sustained injuries as a result of the confrontation.
“We told the bouncer we just wanted our money and he said we were drunk and causing a scene. We continuously got pushed around. And I was on a video call and they shouted why was I recording and grabbed my phone away from me. I grabbed it back and it was then grabbed again and thrown to the floor. I got a gash on my right arm and upper lip in the process. While the bouncer was pushing me, I also grabbed his t-shirt as defence and pulled it and he claims I tore it. We clearly got abused and taken advantage of because we were just two ladies. We even asked to see the manager or owner whom we had seen and know, but we were continuously shouted at and told to leave,” she said.
Ms Mhike, a lawyer by profession, said she was disturbed by the incident.
“I work for a human rights organisation and these are stories we hear on a daily basis of women being taken advantage of by men in bars and the owners know what their staff are up to, but continuously turn a blind eye.
And from what we experienced the public needs to know and stricter measures for such bar owners must be put in place because young women who are vulnerable fall prey to these men and establishments,” she said.
However, the joint’s proprietor refuted the allegations that the establishment was abusive towards its female patrons. In fact, she said their customers were highly treasured. She said like other bars around Bulawayo, they were still trying to get back on their feet after spending an extensive period closed due to Covid-19 restrictions.
“We spent a lot of time closed and as people who run bars in the city, we are trying to restore things to what they were. There is no way we would abuse patrons because right now the customer is king. Our bouncers are trained not to assault people, let alone women.”
