The ANC Youth League (ANCYL) in Cape Town wants to meet the management of The Bungalow restaurant following the racial profiling of two patrons as "two blacks", Times Live reported on Thursday.
The restaurant faced a backlash when Scott Maqetuka tweeted an image of the slip. A Zimbabwean waiter who served Maqetuka has since been suspended pending an inquiry. He later apologised‚ saying he regretted the incident.
ANCYL convenor in the Cape Metro‚ Unathi Tshotwana‚ questioned why the system made provision for racial profiling if the establishment was not racist.
"Why do their tills have [the option of] two blacks? When you go to a restaurant‚ there is table one‚ table two‚ table three‚ so how do you have that thing on your system that says identify people by the colour of their skin? We want to know if two white people order‚ [does the receipt] say they are white people?" Tshotwana was quoted as saying.
Tshotwana said they have asked for a meeting to take place on Friday to discuss the matter.
Following news that the waiter may lose his job over the incident, Maqethuka on Wednesday publicly accepted his apology and argued against his dismissal.
"I also trust that the internal procedures that are underway are fair and that Mike Dzange will not be at threat of dismissal as it would be very unfortunate, especially at this time of the year," said Maqetuka in a post on Twitter.
On Monday morning, Maqetuka posted a photo on Twitter of a bill from Clifton's The Bungalow‚ on which the words "2 BLACKS" were printed. Along with the photo Maqetuka‚ tweeted: "The Bungalow in Clifton still sees us by the colour of our skin."
The story has made headlines since. Dzange, who has worked at the restaurant for eight years, appeared on eNCA on Tuesday night, to apologise for the incident. It also emerged in the segment that he has been suspended and could possibly lose his job.
Cape Town restaurants have repeatedly been the focus of allegations of racism, with anecdotal evidence constantly surfacing of black people being denied tables which their white counterparts easily get. It has even led one columnist to create a safe list for black diners of restaurants where they could be sure to receive a welcome.
Maqetuka initially did not accept the restaurant's apology following the incident, pointing out that they had not bothered to contact him personally. He has since tweeted that the holding company "has issued a personal apology to my partner & I, and have extended an invitation to us for dinner at The Bungalow Restaurant".