The streets of Cape Town are becoming increasingly dangerous for small business owners, particularly those from foreign countries.
A chilling letter, signed by a group calling themselves “Marcus Garvey”, has been circulating in Philippi East, threatening Somali shop owners with death if they don’t pay a monthly protection fee.
The letter, which explicitly states that “these lower Crossroads boys” should not be paid, has sparked an investigation by the Western Cape Provincial Police. Former Nyanga Cluster chair and current member of the Western Cape Provincial Community Police Board, Martin Makasi, revealed that the “Marcus Garvey” group is demanding control over extortion rackets in the area.
“What is happening is that this group is demanding that the group from Lower Crossroads not be allowed to ‘tax’ in their area,” Makasi explained. “A meeting was called with the local schools which I attended because it was found that the learner attendance numbers had dropped as a result.”
The situation is particularly concerning given the recent murder of a 64-year-old woman, affectionately known as “gogo”, in Kraaifontein. The gogo, who earned a living selling traditional cooked meals, was shot dead for allegedly refusing to pay a protection fee demanded by a ruthless gang.
A resident, who wished to remain anonymous, shared the terror that had gripped the community, revealing that vendors were forced to pay protection fees to two different gangs.
“These boys are demanding protection fee from everyone, it doesn’t matter what you’re selling. I used to be a vendor in our area, but I stopped. I had to move and operate from somewhere else. I suspect makhulu was murdered because she had not paid them,” she said/
The woman, who had a close relationship with the gogo, recounted how the extortion had become a constant threat, forcing vendors to pay multiple gangs.
“The challenge is that you sometimes pay them, and another gang demands money the following day,” she said. “People sometimes paid twice.”
The extortionists, who are as young as 18 years old, are known to lead lavish lifestyles, driving expensive cars and demanding hefty sums from their victims.
“We hear they are charging between R500 and R1200 and when one of the suspects was shot [dead] last week, it showed how lucrative the extortion is,” Makasi said. “He was driving a Mercedes-Benz as a youngster while the community is living in absolute fear.”
The extortion has even reached creches and daycare centres, who are forced to pay out of fear for the safety of young children.
“Right now they are even extorting creches and daycare centres who are forced to pay as they worry about the safety of young children,” Makasi said.
The police are aware of the threats and have deployed additional operational forces in Philippi East to combat the violence.
“Additional operational forces have been deployed in Philippi East to ensure the safety of the community, and curb the gang-related violence,” said police spokesperson, Colonel Andrè Traut.
“Extortion is amongst the top crime priorities in the Western Cape and every endeavour is made to combat and root out the phenomena.”
Traut also highlighted the efforts of the Provincial Extortion Task Team, who have achieved success in bringing many cases to court.
“A Provincial Extortion Task Team was established and their investigations have proved to be fruitful with many successful cases brought before court,” he said.
The police are urging victims and anyone with information about extortion to report it to the Extortion Hotline on 0800 314444.
“Victims or any person who is aware of extortion-related crime is encouraged to report it to the Extortion Hotline on 0800 314444 so that an investigation can be initiated,” Traut said.
