GroundUp writes about the harassment of Irvine Goto, who works at coffee-restaurant chain Bootlegger in the Cape Quarter, which used to be the heart of Cape Town’s gay district.  

Goto is subjected to insults at work because he is gay.  The 28-year-old Zimbabwean indicated that most of his colleagues were Zimbabwean and they called him ngochani, a derogatory word in Shona for a man who sleeps with men.  “I have thought of resigning but then I told myself to persevere until I get another job.  Each day I wake up with the zeal to go to work, but the mood and motivation disappears once I get to work because of the treatment I get from other employees,” said Goto.  He lives in Delft and came to SA in 2015.  He is a chef in the salads and grill section.  When waiters come to check on their orders, they ask for ngochani instead of calling for him by name.  Some workers won’t enter the cold room if he is inside it and refuse to eat food prepared by him.  A friend, who had previously worked at the restaurant and left, warned him of the homophobic environment when he got the job.  Goto said last year he reported his ill-treatment several times to management, but nothing was done.  He then turned to PASSOP, an NGO focused on the rights of immigrants in SA.  The new general manager said homophobia was unacceptable and he was rectifying the situation as soon as possible.

• Read the full original of GroundUp’s report by Tariro Washinyira at The Citizen

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