ZAMBIA Police in Lusaka has received a formal complaint from owners of Horse Shoe Restaurants against accusations of racism.
Police spokesperson Esther Katongo said apart from the initial person who started accusing the restaurant management of racism, there was another group that had approached the police asking for permission to demonstrate at Horse Shoe but were denied the right because there was no incriminating evidence.
She, however, said the owners of Horse Shoe Restaurant have challenged anyone who has experienced racial abuse to submit evidence to Police.
“No worker at Horse Shoe or anyone has come to complain to the Police of any ill-treatment bordering on racial abuse except the owners of restaurant who has vehemently denied racial abuse of his workers or customers,” Ms Katongo.
Ms Katongo said investigations have since been instituted to find the people who started the whole social media racism discourse against Horse Shoe management.
“It is not difficult to get hold of the people behind this but we are not going to pre-empt our plans because we are looking at both sides of the coin. I can confirm that this is a matter that we are working on seriously,” she said.
A check at Horse Shoe by the Sunday Times revealed that business was running normally at the restaurant that is situated along Nangwenya Road in Kabulonga.
Recently, the social media was awash with accusation of racism at Horse Shoe. #shutdownthehorseshoe was trending on Twitter.
Trouble ensued when a Lusaka resident attempted to make a reservation for her birthday gig at the Horse Shoe in Lusaka’s Rhodespark area.However she was met with a horrific scene in which a black Zambian employee was being hurled with insults and racist comments by the place’s owners who are believed to be of Greek origin.
Mwambazi, disgusted by the ordeal later took them on but was instead called “a foolish black woman” by Nikki Ioannou believed to be part of the proprietors.
She was also told to “shut the f***** up” as she tried to defend the miserable and tormented Zambian worker who was referred to at some point as a “good for nothing dog”.
The end story sums it all..anyone using such a language is racist and there is no need for police to intimidate the victims..charge the horse shoes manger for using such bad language to his workers and customers..
You call and plead for south africans to invest in your country and deliberately ignoring their racist life style. white south Africans are racist at least 80% of them. You can not compare to aussies, americans, british etc. These SA whites of their own kind.
#HouseFly – I did not see any mention of white south africans – they said the restaraunt is GREEK OWNED !
Are you not now being a racist by just blaming white south afircans when they had nothing to do with the incidence ??????????
These days it is so easy to gather evidence in such a situation why just base story on hearsay! Any simple phone can record and take pictures even without the other person knowing it. So complainant should back up story!
The police now want to arrest the victims and not the wrong doers??? Welcome to Zambia a country in which citizens are afraid of foreigners. Shameful!
The same workers will turn against the lady that tried to defend one of their own and will not come forward to submit evidence because they will be offered K50 salary increment in exchange for silence. It wont go anywhere. Zambians, SMH.
Sad but True.
And the dealing officer will be given a fee hide any evidence, the end of the story will, ‘ no one came forward to submit evidence’ . Period!
Horseshoe restaurant owners have PF friends
This has become the norm: I currently have someone who is trying to kill me and harm my children. I have reported to police but they are not acting because that person has political connections…..are we safe in this country????
Harsh words from a white man are not necessarily racism. If you never traveled and lived with white people or worse still African Americans then am sorry for your ignorance.
You need to be hard on our Zambian people to get anything done right, even your own relatives.
The Zambian work culture is very disappointing, I have been trying very hard to invest in business and real estate in Zambia and all are loses. To many stories and Laziness( kudyelapo culture)
I have a number of people I really need to beat-up on my next trip to Zambia.
If you have done management you should adopt different strategies for different people. You just cant use one method all the time. That is why your ventures are failing
Gringo this is Africa, Zambia and who ever comes here should abide by our norms and not theirs. Whether black america or black uk, Greeks, Indians they shud live within the confines of yhe law. Its your perception of these foreigners that allow them to take advantage of our weak sisters who they ve grossly abused n eventually forced unknowingly to sleep with dogs.
To the police, Officer Katongo please do your work with the mind free of prejudice. The lady who was forced to unveil the ordeal has been very categorical hence forms a firm foundation for reprimanding horseshoe proprietor.
Well done the woman of valour who revealed the animalis behaviour in the Greek descendant.
@Gringo You will do well to keep your money in an Italian or Greek bank so that you lose out! It will be better than you investing your Cleaning Job savings here in Zambia where we need REAL INVESTMENTS!
Where are you based?
Ati I need to beat some chaps on my next trip. Stop using relatives for your projects. Engage VA paying construction companies
From my experience, the corrupt police will always protect perpetrators….victims should never expect any protection. Sometimes they can even intimidate the victim ….
MOst Greeks in Zambia are racists. They don’t call Zambians as Zambians, even in their normal discussions they call Zambians by colour and always call Zambians as Mavros, which means blacks.
Urban Dictionary definition: A Mavro is a Black person or a stupid ghetto person who exudes black-like qualities. Mavro is of Greek origin, and many Greeks use the word as a derogatory to label inept, black, and/or ugly dark people. Mavro can be pluralized into Mavros.
1. Stop acting all ghetto because you are not a mavro.
2. Why you dress like a mavro, so ugly?
3. You are not a mavro because you are Puerto Rican and you don’t look like those mavros.
4. Your nose is big and fat…are you a mavro?
Yet these white people brought the bible to our land and they are all so racist
A Greek will never call a Zambian as my worker when discussing with his fellow Greek when referring to his Zambian worker, he will always say my mavros, meaning my black guy. This is true indeed and posted without malice. I have lived with them and I know them
@ Kangwa: Just becoz u didn’t know Mavros is derogatory it does not mean it isn’t. STOP defending racism. This Muzungu anikonde attitude is our worst own enemy.
Africa is our only home. If we get discriminated in Europe, in China, in USA & even in Africa, where do u want us to be safe?
We need to take the radical attitude of South African blacks. If u post a racial comment, u get arrested, fined heavily & jailed even if u apologize 1 million times.
One should not require Police permission to demonstrate. So longvas there is no trespass the people should be allowed to exercise their rights. Zambia patali
@Gringo I need to accompany you to beat up these chaps, very bad attitude towards work in Zambia.
Back to the days of colonial rule and slavery. What else do police want? Seems they want to gather evidence against th victims instead
Why even report to police? Ifwe twale ba ponona fye. The following day you’ll find that they will have changed. Police will be given ka special breakfast and all accusations will be rubbished.
My advice to fellow Zambians is that if anyone abuses u in zambia simply hit back verbslly, like caling them “pigs” the police wont help u. When I was growing up my mum always called me a coward if I went complaining that a friend had hit me, she would simply say “do to him what he did to u”. White *****s will always be racists but dont allow them in our country. They can do that in their countries like Trump is envouraging them
Yes Greeks call Zambians Mavree, meaning blacks. They call Zambians by colour, it is very normal for them. They are also very good at befriending and corrupting unsuspecting government officials, always looking for shields. The racist thing is deeply entrenched in them otherwise they wouldn’t be calling Zambians by colour. Posted without malice.
Stop using racism as an excuse for Zambian laziness. For as long as we use excuses for our failures nothing will happen.
Racists and generally white locals add very little value to our people. As far as am concerned we wouldn’t miss them much.
I was only 12 when we were mobilized to hound Judge James Skinner. He had acquitted two Portuguese white soldiers who had entered zambia from Angola at the height of the liberation war. His reason, we were told that since the boarder was not marked it was not possible for one to know which country they were in. To us the verdict had to do with race.
Just insult them back and tell them to go back where they came from. Stup1d greeks.
I doubt the authenticity of these accusations. It might be the work of competitors. It seems the supposedly aggrieved persons are only interested in seeing the restaurant shut down. Any one with compelling evidence e.g ka video or cctv footage?
It is racism to refer to pipo with skin colour prefix. How will they feel if wr refer to them as ” muzungu” or “albinos” do not justify racism by description. This is our country. It is also misplaced to imply that Zambians are lazy, what about them muzungus who evade paying our taxes.
When a Caucasian (foreign or born in Zambia) man runs a business, he hires a local black man to be his chief whip. The local workers will hate the poor chap because he’s working on cold eyed professional orders and the chaps will rant over lunch ‘whites are good people, its Banda or Mwansa who hates us fellow blacks’. Low wages, horrid hours and poor conditions are the fault of Banda or Mwansa. When the white man gets vexed enough about the lazy workers and shouts at them, the workers turn on him and say he’s racist and he should go back where he came from. Moral of the story: own your economy!!
Do not worry. sometimes the problem is with us Africans, yes we have a dark or black skin but what about them? we are made to call them WHITES while these suckers are entirely PINK. we have to change this. if we don’t call them PINK people they won’t do it for us. they will continue calling themselves WHITES, which they are not, they will continue to make us feel inferior by the wrong term WHITE. and remember AUSTERITY measures are hurting the PIKK Greeks.
Police should act professionally in this allegations,as rightly put they must look and not just look but scrutinise both sides of the coin. Racism is very likely to be there, especially with mentality of investors that the can treat anyone any way for a job in zambia. Stand up and deal sternly with this thuggery behaviour
And this is in 1964? Or 2016?
To the beloved Zambian brothers and sisters, Let’s stand in unison to protect one another from any Greek, labanese, white, Chinese, indians who perpetually abuse our fellow Zambians. Let’s stand with the abused by stopping buying any services or goods from such shops or restaurants.
For the horse whatever they should prove to the Zambians why we should continue buying srvices n goods there.
Yes, stop going there!!
We Mafirika are the saddest race on the planet!
We are disrespected in our own lands, & worse abroad, & I see some trying to defend racist behaviours & attitudes against us in our own homeland.
Look at the U.S.A. Any muzungu who comes to the country even if illegal is shown more respect than an American Muntu munyama who’s been American for generations. These Muzungus like German Donald Trump, even believe its acceptable for law enforcement agencies to hunt & gun down unarmed Blacks like game. So for you Black apologists of racist supremacists in your own country Zambia, I have utter loathing for you, & wish you visit the U.S, so your Black @ss can get V.I.P treatment!
Lungu chuck these guys out. Let me come and take over that restaurant
@25 Adamas. HOW do you know LUNGU can CHUCK THESE GUYS OUT? HE MAY EVEN BE THERE PARTNERS in some DEALS! Our COUNTRY NEEDS ALOT OF REDEMPTION! WHERE IS THE MINISTRY OF LABOUR when all this is brewing??