Feared vigilante group Boko Haram still on the prowl in Mams
Arrest of extortion gang 'members' brings no relief
The Mamelodi vigilante group calling itself Boko Haram is continuing with its reign of terror collecting monthly “protection fees” from foreign shop owners in the township.
This is despite the arrest of four alleged members of the group which is accused of running a wide-scale extortion ring in Mamelodi, east of Pretoria.
The gang targets tuck shop owners and tenants of family units known as Nkandla, which were built on the premises of Mamelodi West hostel. Boko Haram collect R2,500 rent from tenants of the units of Tshwane municipality.
It’s not clear if this one type of extortion still continues following the arrests of individuals linked to Boko Haram.
But the two tenants who agreed to speak to Sowetan anonymously, said Boko Haram members have not pitched to collect rental money since the arrests.
“I will save the R2,500 that I was paying and I will look for another place,” one of the tenants said.
Another tenant said he last paid Boko Haram at the end of February and was no longer sure of the arrangement of staying at the flats and he wanted to move out.
Sowetan spoke to three foreign nationals operating tuck shops in the community, who said they were still forced to pay R500 a month. The shop owners had receipts as proof of payment. The receipts just had the name of shop and the amount received.
Shop owners who spoke on condition of anonymity said they were left with no choice but to continue paying to avoid reprisals.
“I don’t know how the law of South Africa works because the gang still comes and collect money forcefully even though some have been arrested,” a shop owner from Sudan said.
He said he felt betrayed by law enforcement authorities who are seemingly failing to deal with Boko Haram.
He told Sowetan that he was called by the man that regularly collected the protection fee from him, telling him to give the money to someone else.
“I was shocked and confused after the call and thought if I refused I might lose my life. I decided to pay the money for my own safety and my shop,” he said. Within half an hour, a black car with three male occupants stopped at his shop and asked for the R500 protection fee and issued him with a receipt.
Another foreign tuck shop owner from Pakistan told a similar story about the call and the same black car arriving to collect the money.
“I saw three men arriving in a black [VW] Golf and they entered my shop and produced a receipt book and I paid R500 and they left,” he said.
Police have arrested four alleged members of Boko Haram with Sibongile Mabele and Mncedisi Ntloko, both aged 37, getting released on bail of R10,000 each while two others are still in custody.
Mabele and Ntloko are accused of hijacking the Nkandla flats, costing the City of Tshwane up to R12m in rental fees.