A social media post by a South African woman has sparked outrage on Twitter. This comes after she revealed that she refused to be served by a Zimbabwean waiter at Wimpy Clearwater Mall in Roodepoort.
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The woman who calls herself Shokwakhe claimed that she was originally served by a waiter called Nomatter who is of Zimbabwean descent. She went on to claim that she requested to be served by a South African, rather than an ‘alien’.
Shokwakhe also included the famous hashtag, #PutSouthAfricansFirst, which some people argue is xenophobic. In her defense, she argued that she is advocating for the employment of South Africans in low-skill sectors such as restaurants in order to reduce the unemployment rate which is apparently high.
Today I had breakfast at Wimpy Clearwater Mall a waiter by the name of Nomatter from Zimbabwe came to serve us at our table. I politely told her that I want to be served by a South African. Normalize refusing to be served by aliens #PutSouthAfricansFirst
— Shokwakhe (@Shokwakhe16) October 11, 2020
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However, her Twitter post sparked outrage with many people questioning the rationale for refusing to be served by a foreigner when she was buying in a foreign-owned restaurant chain where the food may have been prepared by a foreigner.
Below are a few Tweets and reactions from her post:
Wimpy was founded by J. Lyons and Edward Gold in Bloomington, Indiana, United States. However, the restaurant chain is now a South African company, owned by Johannesburg Stock Exchange-listed Famous Brands.