BONTEHEUWEL, CAPE TOWN — A surge in Bonteheuwel spaza shop attacks has sparked urgent warnings about the rise of violent extortion rackets targeting foreign-owned businesses in the Cape Flats community. Three separate incidents over just ten days have left one shop owner dead, another wounded, and a third narrowly escaping injury, signaling a dangerous new tactic by local criminal elements.
Earlier this week, a 31-year-old Somali shop owner was shot and killed while serving customers. In a separate incident, another shop owner sustained injuries, while a third shooting on Friday resulted in no physical injuries but further escalated community fears.
Ward Councillor Angus McKenzie stated there is little doubt criminal gangs are increasingly targeting foreign-owned spaza shops as a new source of income. He explained that joint efforts by metro police and law enforcement to clamp down on gangsterism and its main feeder, the drug trade, have disrupted traditional illicit economies.
“As more houses get raided and we take more drugs off the street, these gangsters look for other means to try and make money,” McKenzie noted, adding that they are now exploiting soft targets. He revealed that authorities had received intelligence two to three weeks ago indicating these opportunistic extortion attempts were imminent, describing the acts as gangs trying to recoup money and assume control over something they previously had no authority over.
The atmosphere in the neighborhood is deeply tense. Many business owners and residents have declined to speak on the record, citing fears of retaliation. Those who did speak expressed deep concern that the “taxing” of spaza shop owners is mirroring violent tactics previously seen in areas like Crossroads and Gugulethu. Residents pointed out that specific factions—such as the so-called “F boys,” “A boys,” and “B boys”—control nearly every block in Bonteheuwel, positioning them to demand protection money from foreign shop owners. Community members warned that if these shops are forced to close, it will severely impact local access to goods and destabilize the neighborhood further.
Recent footage of an armed man outside a local spaza shop has further highlighted the growing concern and expanding reach of alleged extortion networks on the Cape Flats.
Fight Against Crime South Africa warned that this violence mirrors the exact methods used by organized gangs to establish territorial control and generate new revenue streams. A representative for the organization highlighted the severe militarization of these criminal groups, noting that extortionists are increasingly equipped with heavy artillery, grenades, fully automatic rifles, and almost unlimited ammunition.
The organization emphasized a desperate need for the South African Police Service (SAPS) to investigate the origins of these firearms. “They exert authority over these communities through the firearms that they have, and once you choke that, then perhaps you could start making inroads,” the representative stated, underscoring the urgent need for targeted police intervention to dismantle the extortion networks before they become permanently entrenched in the community.
