Cato Crest shop owner fears for his life after death threats
A CATO CREST shop owner believes there is a price tag on his head for leasing a tuck shop to Somalians.
Father-of-two Mthembeni Zulu now fears for his life and has submitted an affidavit to the South African Police Service requesting that they investigate.
“Hitmen using different tactics have been hired to ambush me because I am leasing my store to Somalians,” Zulu told the Sunday Tribune this week.
In his affidavit, he states that the threats emanated from a group calling itself the “Ward 101 Business Forum”.
He said local policemen at Cato Manor police station were aware of the threats on his life.
Zulu said he received similar threats during the xenophobic violence of three years ago, which led to the slaying of a local shop owner Sthembiso Shangase, who was shot dead in front of his children, outside the family’s Mayville home.
The shooting incident came in the wake of a local business forum demanding the expulsion of foreign nationals within 24 hours.
Zulu had also been handed a letter at that time, demanding that he cut business ties with foreigners. Zulu said he had warned Shangase to be extra-vigilant because he was also disliked for helping Somalians.
Shangase’s son, Sibongiseni, said that he believed his father was shot because he resisted calls not to let his shop to foreigners. He alleged that a hitman had been hired and his best friend had been used as bait.
“He stood up to the individuals who despised him because he had Somalians running the shop. They threatened him during meetings.”
Shangase, who was also a bishop in the Ekuphileni Congregational Church of Zion, died when he was shot in the stomach while wrestling with an attacker.
After his death, his second wife, Nomfundo, who had been at home at the time, said her husband had received a phone call from a friend at around 6pm and had stepped outside to chat. She said she heard gunshots a few moments later and ran to investigate.
“My husband was wrestling with an attacker and then he collapsed. We rushed him to King Edward Hospital, where he died,” she said.
Sibongiseni said: “On a number of occasions, he was told that something bad would happen to him. It is clear to me that it was these same people who killed my father. I lost my father because of a rental agreement.”
Meanwhile, Shangase’s first wife, who refused to give her name, said the family had not recovered from the trauma and it pained her that nobody had been arrested after her husband’s death. She said that to avoid bad memories, she had sold her family home.
“It seems like nothing happened to my husband,” she said.
Zulu said four suspects had been interrogated at the local police station over Shangase’s murder, but were later released because of a lack of evidence. He alleged that witnesses were threatened by suspects, which led to the case reaching a dead-end.
“His killers are walking freely and they are living within this community, while his family suffered the consequences,” said Zulu.
According to SAPS spokesperson Captain Nqobile Gwala, a suspect was arrested and charged for Shangase’s murder, but the case was withdrawn due to a lack of evidence.
Zulu said he had recently been receiving dubious calls from hidden numbers, but he would not succumb to the pressure from “a few greedy locals”. “They invite me to latenight meetings, trying to lure me into dark alleys,” he said.
Zulu’s concerns follow threats by the controversial Northern Region Business Association (Norba) to chase out foreigners who are running tuck shops in Inanda, Ntuzuma and Kwamashu.
Interventions by the Kwazulunatal premier’s office have quelled the fears of some foreign nationals, while others have lost hope.
In an urgent meeting convened by Premier Willies Mchunu in Kwamashu, officials resolved to conduct a fresh verification of spaza shops operating in the area and to start regulating the entry of new entities.
Norba secretary Mlungisi Mncube said threats to shut shops owned by foreigners stemmed from frustration at the increasing number of tuck shops run by Somalians and Ethiopians.
“We have been frustrated as the government has shown no willingness to regulate the business. For some of us, this is our breadand-butter business and we cannot afford to see it collapse.”
The chair of the Somalian community, Ahmed Mohamed, said they hoped that calm would prevail.
“We agreed that all shops must be listed, verified and licensed. By-laws have been amended to accommodate the new regulation process. Both foreigners and locals will be treated equally.
“We appreciate the way the premier has handled this matter. Who knows how it could have ended (if he had not intervened)?” he said.