A young man in a wheelchair has been shot and killed at a Cape Flats shopping centre in broad daylight by a gunman wearing a salaah top.
Shoppers and traders at the Town Centre Mall in Mitchells Plain now fear for their lives as this was the second murder in one week.
On Friday just after 1pm, Abubaker Jumat, 21, was on his way home to Eastridge when he was shot in the parking area near the Engen garage.
A witness says: “The boy who shot him was dressed in a salaah top and black jacket and shot Abubaker five times in the face.”
However, people have declined to name the shooter, who has not been arrested yet, “as he is also the son of an innocent mother”.
Abubaker was well-known in the Town Centre and used to skarrel and trade there, say other traders.
Relatives say Abubaker was a teen gangster when he was shot at the age of 16. He then changed his life around.
On 27 April, taxi owner and driver, Jamian “Jaime” Walters, 35, was shot eight times at the rank on the Wynberg route.
Faeeza Mohammed, Abubaker’s aunt, who is a trader at the centre, says they are calling on police and government to make the place safer.
“I have helped to raise him since he was three months old after his mother died of cancer,” says Faeeza.
Abubaker Jumat
“We are calling on government to help eradicate poverty because in that way you will prevent gangsterism.
“We are not saying that Law Enforcement isn’t doing anything, but we do not feel safe here in the Town Centre because this is the second murder.”
Another relative, who asked not to be identified, says they do not know why Abubakr was killed: “He was on his way home and they shot him and we do not know why it has happened.”
Another trader, who asked not to be identified, says they are living in fear: “To be honest, we are thinking who is next. I have been trading for more than 20 years and now we feel like we all can be targeted at any time.”
Police spokesperson, Sergeant Noloyiso Rwexana, says there have been no arrests.
“A murder case has been opened for investigation following a shooting incident... at Town Centre, Mitchells Plain,” she says.
“According to reports a 21-year-old man was shot multiple times and died due to his injuries. Circumstances surrounding this incident are under investigation with no arrests as yet.”
genevieve.serra@inl.co.za