Moroccan social media users have condemned an announcement purportedly made by the Moroccan Transport Company (CTM) refusing to sell bus tickets to Sub-Saharan Africans without presenting their residence permit.

A photo of the announcement attributed to the CTM was widely circulated on social media. It reads “Following the instructions of the authority, it is strictly forbidden to sell the CTM tickets to the Africans who do not justify a residence or a regular passage in Morocco (Resident Card) especially to Norther and Southern Moroccan destinations of: Tangier, Tetouan, Al- Hoceima, Nador, Oujda, and Laayoune”

It continues that “the customer service reps will verify this category of passengers’ documents and also forbid illegal immigrants who are illegally in Morocco to get into the buses.”

Internet users in Morocco reshared the photo of the announcement, accusing the company of racism, and calling on the authorities to investigate the incident. Indignant Moroccans also asked the rest of the Moroccan population to boycott the company.

The Company Denies, Internet Users Confirm

Following the immense wave of indignation that the announcement stirred, the transport company reacted to the allegations by denying them in a post in its Facebook page. The post states that “no announcements or notices of this type have been issued by the general management of the company.”

The post published at 12 pm on October 30th continues that the company’s values and ethics “go against all sorts of discrimination”, and that throughout its hundred years of service, the company has put the passengers at the center of its interest, irrespective of their racial backgrounds.

Not long after this disclaimer, another footage taken from inside a CTM Rabat agency showing the same ‘racist announcement’ duct taped to glass display counter. The person who made the 15-second video, a Sub-Saharan, complains that he was not allowed to buy a ticket.