I was slapped, kicked and choked at Ayepyep Lounge – patron

An incident where a woman was shot for apparently refusing to leave with a man who bought her drinks has shone the spotlight on violent altercations at nightclubs and lounges.

Although the woman was shot outside the premises of Ayepyep Lounge in Pretoria, the incident occurred on the doorstep of the venue, where the woman had been in the company of the men.

A 27-year old woman from Midrand, who prefers to remain anonymous, has come forward to detail her own experience of abuse at the hands of a male patron who was at the lounge with friends. According to the woman, she had attended a party at the lounge to celebrate a friend’s promotion. Upon their arrival there, they bought their own drinks and were seated in VIP.

“My friends and I had our own table, and we enjoyed the first half of the night. I went to the bathroom, and when I came back, a group of men and some women were seated a table away from us. One of the men from that group came up to me while I was dancing, grabbed my hair and dragged me down to the floor.

“I was in shock. I had no idea why he was attacking me, and couldn’t even defend myself properly. He pushed me so hard that I fell on our table. He choked me and started hitting me, people were just watching, and it was left up to my friend to rescue me. She managed to get the man to stop beating me, but was shouted at and threatened with a beating by men who hadn’t tried to help me,” said the woman.

Their ordeal didn’t end there, as they were forced to leave the VIP area and the lounge by bouncers who wouldn’t hear their side of the story. The man was left to carry on partying despite being the one who had attacked the woman.

“I think I was treated unfairly, reasons being I have, to this day, no idea why I was attacked, and I also feel the guards gave us no space to explain what had happened. I feel the guards were unfair and biased.

“And clearly they did not care that the other party was a man attacking a woman. The whole matter was not dealt with properly because the attackers were left to party inside, but we were kicked out, and there were people there who saw that we did nothing wrong.

“The guy that attacked me still goes there, so who else has he attacked with nothing happening to him. Why are they still letting him in? Knowing that he attacks people, even worse, ladies.”

Ayepyep lounge has since released a statement on the shooting, saying it condemned violence against anyone and especially women.

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