Man Cries Over Fish In South Africa

DRAMA UNFOLDED at the Muzinda Residence dining hall, Pretoria, base of most of government's sponsored fans to the Mundial, when an elderly Ghanaian soccer fan cried bitterly over what he described as a tiny fish which was served to him during dinner time.

The man, whose name was not readily known, had waited patiently in a long queue until it reached his turn and he was served with kenkey, pepper and fish.

Suddenly, he started yelling and raining a barrage of insults on the matrons at the canteen for giving him a small fish, and demanded that his fish be replaced with a bigger one immediately.

The matron explained to the man that it was not her intention to give him a small fish so he should take his food and allow others in the line to be served, but this got the man angrier.

Amid tears, he suddenly shouted at the top of his shrill voice, asking the matron, who is a South African national, “Which constituency are you from to give me a small fish?”

This drew a sizeable number of curious observers to the scene, whose efforts to calm him down proved futile as he became even more furious.

The fuming man demanded from the perplexed matron “when we were campaigning vigorously in 2008 to bring the NDC into government, where were you?”

He further enquired from the South African woman the role she played in the NDC campaign which had given her the audacity to serve NDC faithful, who put their life on the line for the party, with small pieces of fish.

The nasty incident went on for about 30 minutes and as the Ghanaians failed to calm him down, the security guards at the Muzinda Residence were compelled to come in and drag the man, who was crying like a baby, from the canteen.

This was not the first time such a scene had taken place at the canteen in the Muzinda Residence.

On countless occasions, some of the Ghanaian soccer fans who claimed to be 'die-hard' NDC fans turned the canteen into a boxing arena, attacking each other with least provocation.

During one of these incidents, an angry fan used his fist to break a glass. In other instances, the self-acclaimed NDC supporters were seen at each other's throat, an incident which the South African nationals watched with surprise.

From I.F. Joe Awuah Jnr., Pretoria