Consumer ****** by PnP Security Guard

<p>I feel like living in a country were lately our nation has been faced with its fair share of ****** incidences I believe that I should share my recent experience.</p> <p>On 2016/05/26 at approximately 18:02, as I was about to exit the Pick ‘n Pay supermarket at Carlton Centre I was approached by an average height black male who insisted that I show him were I took the Parmalat cheese I had left in the store.</p> <p>Initially as I entered the store I went straight towards the dairy fridge section in search of Mozzarella cheese, thereafter I went to fetch a loaf of white bread however, to my disappointment there was no Blue Ribbon white bread so I left the cheese then proceeded to the queue section to make my purchase of Lay’s potato chips.</p> <p>Since the line was quiet long I left the products I had with me in a basket were the other products were disposed. As I exited the store heading towards the escalators I felt someone firmly grabbing my arm then blocking my right of way, he then proceeded to question me about where I had taken the cheese and that I did not live in this area. I rep**** that I had placed it in the bread section, he then told me to show him were it was and escorted me back into the store.</p> <p>My assumption is that he had been following me the moment I had initially entered the store since about a month ago I had seen him following me in the wine section of the store but thought nothing of this because I had been coming to this store for the past 8 years.</p> <p> </p> <p>As soon as he had finished interrogating me I asked him for his name and told him that he had just basically racially profiled me and alluded to me taking the Parmalat cheese. Subsequently, I asked him for his name, at first he kept quiet then I asked again and he rep**** in isiZulu ‘Majinkilani wase Pick ‘n Pay’ (PnP security guard), I kept asking for his name and he eventually rep**** that his name is ‘Nosipiwo Mjalijali’, I assumed that he was using an alias but could not verify this since he had no name badge.</p> <p> </p> <p>My first act was to approach the manager however with my past experience with the store when I was ****** in one of your aisles, I saw this as an exercise in futility. The latter I informed him that I would report him as is my rights, he then told me that I should ‘remember his statement’ and that as a security guard it was his job.</p> <p> </p> <p>I feel that this was basically **************, profiling and harassment.</p> <p>I honestly felt like a suspect who had just committed a crime because customers kept starring at me including a group of your employees. I honestly felt embarrassed, insulted and frightened.</p> <p> As I do understand that I our country has been plagued with crime and that we have resorted to living in a culture of fear this however does provide the freedom to ‘secure’ anyone who uses your store without declaring it upon entry.</p> <p>Notate bene: I have faced similar harassment by one of your security guards a couple of years ago at the Bridge Pick ‘n Pay store whereby I was taken into a room and the security began to frisk me, fondle my *******s and accused me of *****ing whilst a female employee stood guard.</p> <p>Should I not be satisfied with a suitable resolve, I will be forwarding this complaint to the National Consumer Commission before seeking legal recourse.</p> <p>Yours Faithfully</p> <p>Itumeleng Mkhwa****</p>