Cape Town – The Western Cape High Court has revoked the R1.25 million ruling granted against Christopher Logan in favor of Hanks' Old Irish Pub.
That earlier ruling ordered Logan to pay damages on a R1.25 million mark for honor losses related to a racist incident at the venue in December 2022.
Commenting on the ruling, Logan said: “The original order was a default decision and was granted without me being given the opportunity to present my defense or be asked in court.
“I was never given the opportunity to respond to a fair hearing or to a complaint.
“Today, the court recognized this fraud and put aside the entire default judgment.”
Logan said the ruling followed in recognizing that the order was incorrect and confirmed that all persons are entitled to the constitutional rights of a fair hearing before such serious findings were made.
“I would like to express my sincere gratitude to my legal team, the advocates of Koholosa Qaba and Ashley Ashley Vuyo Leeuw for representing me,” Logan said.
“Their dedication, expertise and unwavering commitment to justice have made the results possible today.”
Referring to how the matter landed in court, Logan said on December 1, 2022 that his friend, Tabiso Danka, was stopped at the entrance to the Hanks Old Irish Pub.
Logan said his friend was told “we cannot enter unless accompanied by a white man.”
The security guard justified this by claiming that black people would “steal and cause trouble” and said they were acting on the owner's instructions.
“The next day I took Tabiso and others to the venue and raised the issue directly with the owner,” recalls Logan.
“Instead of apologies and accountability, we encountered hostility, aggression and physical assault.”
Some videos of the conflict recorded by the bystanders went viral and sparked public outrage over the incident.
“My accusations of racist behavior were seen while I supported my explanation that day,” Logan said.
“I was denied the opportunity to protect myself with subsequent defamatory actions.
“Today's decision restores the principle that such issues must be decided in the open court and all parties have an opportunity to hear.”
Logan said Hanks repeatedly misled the public and courts by intentionally creating false stories.
“I'm now looking at Hanks' owners and taking a new approach to the issue, focusing on how Tabiso was treated in their founding,” Logan said.
“My judgment today is a great relief for me personally, as it has hit my personal life and happiness and has impacted my loved ones.
“The social and emotional costs are huge and affecting my sense of self.
“This is an important step forward not only for me, but for the principles of fairness in our judicial system.
“I will continue to speak up and defend the truth about what happened at Hank's Old Irish Pub.
“The motivations of this whole issue remained the same. I love my friend Tabiso and I hate racism.”
Meanwhile, the High Court notified respondents Latari House, Viron Papadakis, John Papdakis and Freddy Kalenga that the matter would progress with the previous case management of Judge Erasmus by the date provided by his office.
The court ordered the third defendant in the suit to file the suit by September 11, 2025, and the plaintiff ordered the copy to be filed by October 2, 2025.
The court said the cost was to stand up to later resolve.
