The Western Cape High Court has ordered a man who made false accusations of racism against a pub in Cape Town to pay R1.25-million in damages.
The court said Christopher Logan must pay Hank’s Olde Irish Pub in Bree Street in Cape Town the money for defamatory statements he made in December 2022.
At the time Logan accused the owners of racism and claimed that a black friend had not been allowed entrance to the pub because of his race.
In media interviews Logan also said the pub had racist policies. The EFF protested outside the establishment, leading to its temporary closure.
The court said that the: “plaintiffs experienced reputational harm, financial losses, emotional distress, and temporary business closures.”
It went on: “It is clear that, as a result of the publication of the statements, the plaintiffs were severely embarrassed and publicly degraded… they have been, and will be, prejudiced in their professional and private endeavours, and it is unlikely that they will ever fully recover their respective reputations.”
In a statement last August, the pub said: “After an extensive nine-month investigation, Cape Town authorities have concluded that the allegations of racism against Hank’s Olde Irish Pub on Bree Street were fabricated by individuals seeking to exploit a situation for personal gain. The incident, which initially garnered significant attention on social media and in the press, involved claims of racial discrimination against Thabiso Danca, a 25-year-old individual who was allegedly denied entry to the pub based on his skin colour.
“The investigation uncovered that Danca and his friend Christopher Logan were responsible for creating a false narrative surrounding the incident. Danca alleged he was barred from entering Hank’s due to his race, which was proven unfounded. Police’s investigation found that on the night of 1 December 2022, the door personnel requested Danca’s identification to verify his age; Frank’s door policy is ‘not under 21’; he failed to produce a valid ID and was denied entry to the pub.
“The situation escalated when Danca’s friends, who had already gained entry to the pub, confronted the door personnel, alleging racial discrimination. However, upon clarification by the pub’s staff and verification of Danca’s age, he was permitted to join his friends.
“However, Logan, an ‘anti-racist’ social media influencer and friend of Danca, who was not present that evening nor witnessed the incident, decided to call out the pub for racism publicly. Logan confronted the staff at Hank’s the following day, and despite efforts (by others) to calmly explain the facts, he became physically aggressive and was removed from the premises. The pub’s CCTV footage used in the police investigation would show that Logan instigated the altercation.”
[Image: Screengrab of Logan, in a viral clip aired on SABC]