Cape Town - A letter circulating on social media that was delivered to a Gugulethu trader – purportedly from an extortion gang demanding payment of a protection fee – has left traders rattled.
The Gugulethu businesswoman, going by the online name of Zimbini Luphuwana, shared the letter in the local online group after being left angry and disturbed following the delivery of a note demanding that she must pay a protection fee to continue trading.
The woman said men driving a Toyota Avanza dropped it off at her stall and left.
In the note, the hawker was informed that from February 25 she would be “protected” and that she must ensure that she paid the protection fee. The letter further instructed her to call a number provided should she have a problem with this.
A search on TrueCaller of the provided number showed that it’s registered as belonging to “Protection Fee”.
The trader alleged that after reporting this to the local police station, she was told that this was out of the police’s control and they advised her to instead pay the required amount.
Gugulethu Development Forum general secretary Vincent Doming said they were aware of the circulating letter and that until the government protected the local economy, extortion of township businesses would continue.
“Big businesses in the first economy are protected, making it difficult for the underworld to infiltrate them. They are now targeting small businesses where people trade for survival.
“When we engage with police and law enforcement they raise the point that they are also in a difficult situation in that when a suspect is arrested, the case gets withdrawn as there would be no evidence.
“The justice system makes use of affidavits from the victims, but unfortunately, at this stage there is no one willing to come forward to say they have been trapped under this underworld of extortion,” he said.
He said the extortionists were preventing the residents from pursuing business opportunities as they feared being targeted.
Domingo could not confirm whether more traders had received the note as people won’t come forward, fearing for their safety. He said the forum would look into the matter.
Police spokesperson Ndakhe Gwala confirmed that Gugulethu police received information about a letter that was circulating on social media.
Gwala said the matter was forwarded to the intelligence team for investigation and that no case had been reported yet.
Victims can report any similar incidents at Gugulethu police station anonymously, call 08600 10111 or use the MySAPS mobile application.