Durban — Several businesses in uMlazi, south of Durban, including taxi owners, are under siege from selected gangs, who allegedly demand “protection fees” from them.
Mbuso Nzimande, a landlord in uMlazi, said: “I don’t care if even if I die, these have made my life very difficult. If they kill me, it’s okay. I don’t care. These guys want me to pay R4 000 every time, and I can’t afford that.”
Nzimande owns several buildings in uMlazi and Chesterville.
Drawing the line in the sand, Nzimande said: “If they kill me, it’s okay. These guys have destroyed my life. That is how I don’t even want to hide my name.”
It is alleged that a feared and prominent taxi owner in uMlazi is also extorting other taxi bosses, “taking” R50 from each taxi a day.
A spaza shop owner, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said: “We met on Monday and sent our list of concerns to the police. We are tired of being exploited and extorted by people who threaten to kill us.
“Every month, I am subjected to paying a ‘protection fee’. I don’t know what I’m being protected from.”
A long-serving taxi owner, who did not want to be named, said: “This guy (name withheld) is demanding R50 from us every day.
“This is wrong because some of us will fight back, and it is not going to be nice.”
The Daily News has witnessed on several occasions when the contingent of the said owners stopped taxis.
“This is not going to end well. We will revolt, and it is not going to be nice. We are tired of being treated in such a manner,” said another taxi boss.
During a midnight gunfire earlier this week, police shot and killed six suspects who are alleged to have tormented business owners in Hammarsdale, west of Durban.
They were said to have been behind a series of murders and extortion in Durban.
The suspects were linked to a series of execution-style murders, and also the extortion of local businesses in Hammarsdale and Mariannhill.
Following the murders, provincial police spokesperson Colonel Robert Netshiunda said: “Police were tracing suspects who had shot five people, and killed four of them execution-style on Siyaphambili Road in Tshelimnyama in Mariannhill on Sunday night.”
Netshiunda said the five deceased were sitting at the side of the road, drinking alcohol, when the men arrived armed with pistols and a rifle. They allegedly ordered the seated men to lie down and shot them in the back of their heads.
Back in March, the Daily News reported about a criminal syndicate that was terrorising small businesses, demanding “protection fees” from them to operate in Isipingo and uMlazi, south of Durban.
This so-called protection fee could be anything from R5 000 to R20 000 a month, depending on how busy and lucrative the business was, according to victims, who spoke to the Daily News on condition of anonymity for fear of being targeted.
“I have been forced to pay R10 000 a month as a protection fee since November last year. This has crippled my business. I cannot afford this any more.
“We are pleading with the government to intervene,” said a business owner, who cannot be named to protect his identity.
Some business owners are now considering closing their businesses to avoid paying the “protection fee”.
“I have been running my business here for 10 years. The problem started when a group of people started coming here and demanded money from me.
“I told them I would not do that,” said a businessman who operates in Isipingo.
At the time, former eThekwini mayor Mxolisi Kaunda vowed to round up the criminals and crush the group.
“We are aware of the hoodlums wreaking havoc in our city, demanding protection fees from people. “We will not allow them to run amok in our city. We will crush these people so that small businesses can operate without any fear of being victimised,” Kaunda said.
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