Nyanga's extortion crisis demands urgent government intervention

EXTORTION and targeted shootings at Somali-owned shops in Nyanga have spiralled “out of control” and require a coordinated response.

About 60% of Somali-owned shops in the area are reported to have shut down due to extortion-related threats, said Nyanga Community Police Forum (CPF) secretary-general Dumisani Qwebe.

He said recent incidents include raids on shops along Ngulube Road, where some owners were shot, and further attacks at other locations in Philippi.

Police spokesperson FC van Wyk confirmed that Nyanga police registered a murder and two counts of attempted murder following a shooting at a supermarket on Ngulube Road on Wednesday.

“A 40-year-old male was fatally wounded, and two others were injured. The injured victims were taken to a nearby hospital for treatment. Reports indicate that five unidentified males entered the shop and randomly started shooting. The motive is yet to be established, although extortion-related activity has not been ruled out,” said Van Wyk. No one has been arrested.

Qwebe said the crisis has been building for years.

“We predicted this problem back in June 2017 and warned government officials that mechanisms should be put in place while it was still manageable. Unfortunately, the warnings were not heeded, and today it’s a full-blown crisis,” he said.

Concerns have also been raised over the safety of children in the area. Qwebe urged parents to keep children safe and called on government departments to intervene collectively to restore safety and allow businesses to reopen.

“Our biggest challenge is that we’ve got kids who are around these shops, who go there to buy items, and they might be victims of stray bullets or even struck by cars as they flee during shootings,” Qwebe added.

Police Oversight and Community Safety MEC Anroux Marais said: “Such brutal attacks have no place in our communities and justice must be served swiftly. I urge anyone with information to assist the police in their investigation. We need to get these criminals off our streets, as well as the firearms they are using to terrorise our citizens.”

Anyone with information on crime can anonymously contact Crime Stop on 08600 10111 or use the MySAPS mobile app.

Cape Times