Buziwe Nocuze
Two foreign nationals were killed at two different businesses after they allegedly failed to pay protection fees in Cape Town on Monday night.
A 31-year-old Zimbabwean was shot in his barbershop while a 29-year-old Ethiopian national was gunned down at a spaza shop.
A witness who spoke to Scrolla.Africa said a group of men stormed the businesses, which are close to each other, and demanded protection fees.
When they were told there was no money, they started shooting, killing the two men.
“They are heartless, to say the least, because they even collect this protection fee money from people selling chicken feet or sweets on the street,” the witness said.
“Some people decided to stop selling meat and fruit because they were forced to pay protection money. The sad reality is that this will never end. People will continue losing their lives because there are a lot of criminals collecting money.”
There are a number of groups which demand protection money from business owners.
Scrolla.Africa understands that small businesses are charged R1,500 – R3,500 monthly, depending on the type of business.
Construction firms are being charged a monthly fee of R20,000.
A community leader in the area said they are struggling to intervene in this matter because when they invite shopkeepers to their meetings, they don’t attend.
“We wanted to see if we could not come to a solution, but they did not attend our meeting.
Maybe they are taking orders from the criminals collecting protection fees,” the leader said.
Western Cape police spokesperson Colonel Andre Traut confirmed the murders, adding that in both incidents, the motive is yet to be established.
“The circumstances are under investigation, and arrests are yet to be made.”
Anyone with information regarding the incidents is kindly requested to contact Crime Stop on 0860010111.
ANImage source:Phando Jikelo/African News Agancy (A
