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Pamela Shumba Senior Reporter
HARARE food outlet Chicken Slice yesterday apologised for misspelling isiNdebele words in an advertising poster at its outlet which was opened last week in Bulawayo.Following public outcry, the food outlet was forced to pull down the offending advert three days after opening the outlet.

The giant poster at the corner of their 9th Avenue and Fort Street branch riled city residents because it had the wrong spelling for the word umkhwenyana.

It featured the words “Umkwenyana uqobo ubuya le Chicken Slice” which should have read “Umkhwenyana oqotho ubuya le Chicken Slice”.

“Packers International (Pvt/Ltd), trading as Chicken Slice, wishes to apologise for the typographical error on the word umkhwenyana or any grammatical error that could have been observed on our advert in isiNdebele language,” read the apology in yesterday’s issue of Chronicle.

“Chicken Slice is an indigenous company that values its customers regardless of race and creed. The mistake was not meant to cause despondency among the Ndebele people. Once again, we sincerely apologise for any inconveniences caused.”

City residents took to social media and applauded Chicken Slice for issuing the apology, saying they appreciated that the food outlet owned up to its mistake.

They, however, advised the company to consult people who know the language for future promotional material.

The Chicken Slice advert is one of the many adverts  that have sparked outrage among Ndebele speakers who felt their language is being deliberately destroyed and undermined.

Big companies such as Delta Beverages, mobile networks such as NetOne and Telecel and non-governmental organisations have been forced to issue apologies and make corrections after misspelling Ndebele names and words on their promotional material.