Omar death: ‘act of gangs’
HE family of a young Cape Town man, who was shot dead in front of his mother, believes his death is an act of a gang initiation and is not politically linked.
Financial adviser Shaheed Omar, the nephew of the late ANC struggle stalwart Dullah Omar, was returning to his home in Rylands Estate with his mother, Subeida, after visiting relatives, when a gunman opened fire and shot him in his chest and groin area at the corner of Jan Smuts Avenue and Govan Mbeki Road on Thursday evening.
The 44-year-old father of one died at the scene.
His aunt, Latiefa Omar, believed the shooting was a gang initiation ritual.
“The manner in which they approached his vehicle is clear they were out to claim a life and not hijack them,” said Latiefa.
“Shaheed and his mother had visited a family member a few kilometres away. His mother wanted to take the relative soup and said she would go on her own but Shaheed refused. He left his wife and daughter with his father. Little did they know he would never return.”
At about 9pm, Omar stopped at the intersection when a man wielding a gun approached.
Omar tried to reverse but the gunman opened fire. ANGRY taxi commuters and rank management are kicking up a fuss over a reeking, filthy public urinal on Monty Naicker Road (Pine Street), where users are often found unzipped or caught with their pants down, exposing their genitals to female passengers and passers-by.
This has become a daily occurrence at Rank 84, opposite Game, and those who work and frequent the area have had enough.
They are demanding the eThekwini Municipality, which installed the public facility, maintain or remove the urinal.
A POST reporter also caught an eyeful of a man who dropped his pants to his thighs before he could venture into the steel structure along the pavement to relieve himself.
Selena Jagdeo of Chatsworth said she worked in the area and took a taxi from the rank.
“I finish work later than usual, at 6pm, so I don’t see the sights that
“When they saw him approach with a gun pointed at them, my sister-in-law started pleading for him to take the car or whatever he wanted but he never said a word.
“He just shot him (Omar) twice and ran away. Within seconds my sister-in-law watched as her eldest child took his final two breaths.”
She said this form of gang initiation had plagued the community.
“New recruits are ordered to kill someone, so they can get in, and if they don’t, they get killed. Although it was dark and the area is deserted at night, it is believed three other men were also lingering in the area and watched the women speak about in the mornings, but I do get the smell and it’s really bad. Something needs to be done,” she said.
Mary Ann Isaac, who also lives in Chatsworth, added: “You have to stand in lines according to your unit and the urinal is open, so it makes the place smell really bad. Also men do it (urinate) in view of gunman before fleeing.”
Latiefa described the area as a hot spot for criminal activity.
“There have been numerous reports of hijackings and unsavoury characters are known to lurk around but we never expected our family to become a target.”
Latiefa squashed allegations on social media that the shooting was politically linked.
The family recently wrote to the ANC’s national executive to request it remove Dullah Omar’s name from the ANC Cape Town Metro Region in the Western Cape with immediate effect and that Omar’s name be dissociated from women standing nearby, which is very disrespectful.”
In an e-mail to the city, which POST has seen, a commuter described the urinal as not properly constructed, adding there was no privacy. “The men do their business and in full view of the public.
“The toilet stinks. The smell irritates the throat and the nose. the planned march in support of President Jacob Zuma.
“We do not believe any political parties were involved in his death. Why would they come after his nephew? Dullah also has a son. If it was politically related, would he not have been the target?
“We have been inundated with condolences from the various parties, organisations as well as the Royal House of Mandela and the Mvezo Traditional Council.
“Right now our family just wants justice to be served. My nephew was a cheerful, helpful and loving young man. He loved his wife, child and family dearly “My humble request, and I think it is in the view of all the commuters, is for the toilet to be removed.”
Rank manager Ricky Gowthum said they were informed a urinal would be erected five years ago and from the outset said it would be a bad idea.
“We never wanted it but it was put here. We were assured it would be cleaned three times a day,” he said, adding the urinal hadn’t been cleaned in three months.
“I have people queuing for taxis every day holding or blocking their noses because of the strong urine stench. At one stage, the urinal was clogged for three weeks.”
His complaints to city officials, he said, were ignored and, as a result, he employed a homeless man a month ago to maintain it.
Gowthum said he and fellow taxi drivers jointly paid the makeshift cleaner between R70 to R90 a day to keep the facility clean.
Chatsworth Minibus Association vice-secretary, Leon Loganathan, said their pleas to city to clean the urinal had fallen and had great respect for his parents, two sisters and his elders.
“The family are still coming to terms with our loss, his (Omar) mother and father are struggling, all they did was cry and question why was he targeted. They will have to seek counselling. We are letting the police do their job without any interference. All we can do, is wait for these criminals to be brought to task.”
Western Cape police spokesperson Captain FC van Wyk said the police are investigating a case of murder and that a manhunt for an unknown number of suspects had been launched. on deaf ears.
“I have been in talks with them since we noticed this urinal was becoming a problem and someone even came out on site and in an e-mail (which POST has seen), confirmed that the state of the urinal was poor.”
He said the taxi business that operated at the rank was affected.
“We should get a fair amount of people who use taxis but now it’s not the same. More people prefer to take the bus because the odour is so bad.”
eThekwini spokeswoman Tozi Mthethwa said the urinal was installed after the city saw a need for more toilet facilities in the city centre.
“People were urinating on the walls, so this concept was introduced to curb that.”
However, Mthethwa said the municipality hadn’t received any complaints.
She said the city hoped to one day have enclosed facilities for females positioned alongside the urinals. THE Kenville community was outraged by a recent invasion of shack dwellers they said were destroying the indigenous fauna and flora of the D’Moss land, which forms part of the uMhlangane Conservancy.
The vice-chairman of the Kenville and Sea Cow Lake Ratepayers’ Association, Ashok Saikoolal, said the area between the Northern Sewer Works in the west and Gumtree Road in the east was an important roosting area for numerous species of birds.
“The conservancy is home to numerous species of plants and animals, notably the banded mongoose and a large troop of vervet monkeys. The last grey duiker was spotted about 10 years ago,” said Saikoolal, who added it was disturbing that the indigenous bush had now been trampled on.
Jamaica and Kenville informal settlements have become two of the largest and oldest dwellings in the community, providing make-shift homes to thousands of people.
But when Saikoolal noticed the new wave of invaders a few weeks ago, he wasted no time in alerting the eThekwini Municipality’s Land Invasion Unit.
“Houses are constructed in the bush and are difficult to track. The clearing of trees only occurs long after the houses have been erected, so it’s too late for demolition to be enforced.”
Resident Wayne Govender, of Steeple Road, said while occupation in the conservancy was a worry, his biggest concern was the pressure added on community resources.
“There are no ablution facilities, no water or electricity access. This leaves room for excessive hygiene and pollution issues. The schools are also ERADICATING crime one street at a time, the proactive Chatsworth Community Policing Forum (CPF) was honoured at this year’s KwaZuluNatal Provincial Excellence Awards, walking away as best community policing forum of the year, for the second consecutive time.
CPF chairperson for the past three years, Jakes Singh, said the forum was working full steam to rid the community of crime and was proud of the recognition.
“We are working vigorously with the community and have formed a great partnership with Chatsworth SAPS. We meet regularly to discuss crime analysis, patterns and trends to find solutions,” said Singh.
Singh said there had been an increase suffering. Kenville Primary is filled to capacity with pupils, most of whom come from the informal settlements,” said Govender.
Said fellow disgruntled resident Rajesh Ramsut of Gumtree Road: “Unfortunately, informal settlements are now either bordering or within that restricted area and the eThekwini Municipality seems to be doing nothing about it.”
Thapelo Mohapi, of the shack dwellers organisation Abahlali baseMjondolo, said people come to the city from rural areas with the promise of a better life. “They cannot be blamed for needing a place to stay.”
The organisation recently celebrated a victory after several marches to the councillor’s office.
The Durban High Court issued an interim interdict denying the city permission to demolish, burn, remove, destroy or dispose of structures or even threaten destruction.
Abahlali claimed the Land Invasion Unit had terrorised at least 241 families at gunpoint.
They were subsequently left homeless in the last six months, he said.
eThekwini’s head of communications, Tozi Mthethwa, urged private property owners under threat of being invaded to apply for court orders to protect their property and report trespassing to the police.
“The municipality has a backlog of 400 000 units and this number will continue to spike if we don’t take decisive action to prevent the mushrooming of new informal settlements.”
Residents can call the city’s Security Management Uniton 031 311 4699 or 079 821 8879 to report land invasion, or the Land Invasion Unit at 031 311 4220/ 4083/ 4024 ( working hours) or 031 311 4702/4667/4669/4701 (after hours or on weekends). in hijackings, assaults and housebreakings but the numbers had dropped over the past year.
“However, a concern remains theft of motor vehicles from malls, churches, temples and halls.”
Singh added that the CPF was involved in joint initiatives with the SAPS, running crime awareness campaigns and engaging with various organisations and businesses.
He admitted, though, that residents were often too complacent and comfortable until something happened to them.
“We want more residents to be active. Our goal is to create as many sub-forums, committees and neighbourhood watches as we can.”
Singh encouraged the youth to become police reservists to protect the community.