A hard-working dad of three, who sold ice-cream and cheese to make a living, is the latest victim of gang violence in Bonteheuwel, where 40 people are said to have been murdered since the beginning of the year.
Sharief Cader, 34, had been walking along Loganberry and Medlar Street when he was confronted by a gunman early yesterday morning.
His grieving widow, aged 34, who asked not to be identified, had the difficult task of burying her husband on Monday according to Muslim rites.
She says the family does not know the motive for the killing, but have lost a father.
The couple has three children, aged 9 and 6 and the youngest just seven months old.
“Everyone knew him as the person who sold the cheese and the ice-cream in Bonteheuwel,” she says.
“I just heard that he was shot and we do not know anything more about the shooting. We just know that he died at the scene. We don’t know why this has happened.
“He was a loving husband and a loving dad who did a lot for his family. We are going to miss him very much,” she said as she broke down in tears.
A close friend of Sharief’s, who also asked not to be identified, says they are living in fear of gangsters who don’t care who they shoot at anymore.
According to ward councillor Angus McKenzie, 40 people have died in gang
violence since January.
MURDER SCENE: Body lay in Loganberry Street
“This brings the number to 40 in Bonteheuwel since the start of the year. Sharief Cader was a local businessman who sold ice-cream and cheese,” he says.
Police spokesperson, Captain Nolonwabo Tshengue, says Sharief was shot in the head and no arrests have been made as yet.
“A case of murder has been opened for investigation following discovery of a body of an unidentified male that was found with gunshot wounds to his head at the corner of Loganberry and Medlar Road, Bonteheuwel, (yesterday) at 1.40am.”
On Saturday, a couple was attacked inside their home in Kiaat Road, Bonteheuwel.
Candice Williams, 35, was shot multiple times and died at the scene while her girlfriend, Tasliema Galant, 31, is in a critical in hospital after she was shot three times in the chest.