It is disgraceful that extortionists have now turned to the graveyards to harass and exploit mourners.
The Sunday Times reported grieving families in Gqeberha in the Eastern Cape have resorted to having burials without tents to avoid attracting the attention of criminals who rob mourners and demand a percentage of funeral policy payments.
No-one is spared from the extortion spree hitting the country, not even the dead. The lack of respect for human dignity and the poor protection of the vulnerable is shameful. Crime has taken charge of the daily lives of South Africans. Morals are fast escaping us in the hands of exploiters who have no respect for anyone.
In Cape Town, Gugulethu councillor Bongani Ngcombolo said: “The creeping presence of such criminal activities is disturbing. We’ve seen how ‘protection fees’ once deemed unthinkable have now become a grim reality. It’s crucial we address these issues before they engulf our society.”
We concur.
Extortion is a growing and dangerous crime trend that can no longer just be left to its own devices. The onus is on law enforcement to investigate the syndicates and hold the criminals to account. Special and urgent attention needs to be given to this problem, it cannot be that people fear for their safety while mourning.
Even more troubling is that schools have become targets too. Extortionists allegedly demanded money from a nurse at Efata School for the Blind at Mthatha in the Eastern Cape.
Businesses have been reeling from the emerging trend of extortion. It is not limited to small businesses but is seen in major industries such as mining and construction.
In Mogale City, Gauteng, each member of a community of informal waste recyclers have to pay a gang of illegal miners R50 a week to operate at the local dumpsite.
A 29-year-old South African recycler told the Sunday Times “about 200” recyclers lived near the dump. “We are targeted by five or six Basotho [illegal] miners who operate near the dump. They come to us every Friday to collect their money. Each one of us must pay R50 or they will hurt or kill us,” said the recycler, who makes between R1,600 and R2,000 a month.
Mogale City’s head of communications Adrian Amod confirmed the town’s dump was under siege by criminals. “Yes, indeed, we have serious challenges with illegal miners. As a matter of fact, they are responsible for frequent fires at this landfill,” he said.
Business for South Africa (B4SA) chair Martin Kingston said businesses were extremely vulnerable to such activity, organised or not.
He said reducing the perception and incidence of crime and corruption by strengthening law enforcement would go a long way towards addressing the challenge while ensuring the independence of law enforcement agencies was not compromised.
The impact of the crimes unfolding before our eyes is alarming. We urgently need a police force with boots on the ground and for leaders to take accountability.
On Friday, police minister Senzo Mchunu announced the quarterly crime statistics, saying South Africa faced a crisis. “We are confronted with a crisis that threatens the safety of our communities and undermines the stability of our nation,” said Mchunu.
He said police were looking at strengthening crime intelligence and the detective division.
Specialised units had been deployed to Mthatha and Gqeberha where businesses and communities had seen unprecedented levels of violence by criminals demanding protection fees.
It cannot be that we are disintegrating into a society that does not respect the dead, mourners, schoolchildren and the most vulnerable. Extortion should not be tolerated as part of the social fabric of this country.
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