Residents report that many shops in the Crossroads area have been closed in recent days due to allegations of extortion and intimidation.
Image: Independent Newspapers Archives
Fear has gripped parts of Crossroads, after dozens of spaza shops, many owned by Somali and other African foreign nationals, remained closed for days last week amid allegations of escalating extortion by armed criminal gangs.
The closures come just days after the Labour and Civic Organisation (LACO) claimed that business owners in parts of Cape Town were facing threats from so-called protection fee gangs, warning that criminal extortion was forcing traders to either pay up or shut down.
Since around Wednesday, residents have taken to social media to report that many neighbourhood spaza shops were no longer operating, leaving communities with limited access to basic groceries and other essentials.
Several videos, purportedly recorded by CCTV cameras inside different spaza shops, have also been widely shared online.
The footage appears to show armed men entering or approaching shops while customers are making purchases. In several clips, customers are seen hurriedly leaving before the shops abruptly close.
A screenshot from CCTV footage circulating on social media shows armed men entering a Crossroads spaza shop while customers are inside. Moments later, shoppers are seen fleeing and the business closes.
Image: Facebook
Residents, many posting anonymously out of fear of being identified, described growing anxiety in the community.
"Shops are closed everywhere, and we don't have a place to buy. The day is almost over, the shops have been closed the whole day. We need help because we have nowhere to buy," one resident wrote on social media.
Another resident alleged that criminal groups were demanding additional payments from foreign-owned businesses.
"There are multiple gangs that are collecting money from me. In total, I would need R20 000 a month to pay all of them. When you pay one, another gang follows. We can't work," a spaza shop owner alleged in a social media post accompanying one of the videos.
Other residents also claimed that gangs had recently demanded an additional "top-up" protection payment of R2 000 from Somali shop owners to continue operating, although these claims have not been independently verified.
A separate incident showing CCTV footage from outside a Crossroads spaza shop shows armed men on the premises while customers are shopping.
Image: Facebook
LACO raised concerns about the growing influence of protection fee gangs operating in parts of Cape Town, alleging that business owners who refused to comply with extortion demands were facing intimidation and threats.
Police have confirmed they are aware of one of the videos circulating online.
Nyanga SAPS spokesperson Ndakhe Gwala said police are actively searching for one of the men seen carrying what appears to be an assault rifle in the videos that have been circulating online.
"Kindly be advised that Nyanga police are aware of an incident where a man is captured on camera carrying an assault rifle outside a spaza shop. The man is a wanted suspect who had previously evaded arrest. Police are following all available leads in a quest to apprehend him," said Gwala.
Police did not immediately respond to further questions on whether cases of extortion or intimidation had been opened, whether they were investigating allegations of increased protection fee demands, or whether they believed xenophobia was playing any role in the incidents.
The developments come amid heightened tensions involving foreign-owned businesses in parts of the Western Cape, where anti-illegal immigrant protests and demonstrations have taken place in recent weeks.
However, it remains unclear whether the latest closures in Crossroads are linked to those protests or are primarily the result of criminal extortion.