Cape Town - The fatal shooting of Abdullah Boonzaier, the son of slain Hard Livings gang boss Rashied Staggie, in Manenberg over the weekend has sparked fears that gang violent will escalate in the area.
Boonzaier was allegedly shot in the head in a suspected hit while gambling with a group of men at Beatrix Court.
The 34-year-old, whose father was a co-founder of the Hard Livings, was also shot dead in 2019, and was in February arrested for kidnapping and extortion after he allegedly tried to extort a tow truck driver of R15 000 in Wright Street, Woodstock.
Police spokesperson André Traut confirmed that on Saturday at around 9.45pm, a 34-year-old man was shot and killed in Beatrix Court, Manenberg by an unknown suspect in what was believed to be a gang-related incident. Traut said the circumstances surrounding the incident were being investigated by police and the suspect was yet to be apprehended.
Manenberg CPF chairperson Vernon Visagie said the situation in the area remained volatile and called on residents to remain calm and safe.
“Fears are that this fatal shooting might cause more violence, as expected when the leader or a member of a gang has been killed,” he said.
Visagie called for the increased deployment of metro and law enforcement officers and police to stop the imminent violence.
“What is mostly of concern is that it’s the young and innocent that get killed in the crossfire and because of this, we plead with residents to ensure they are safe and ensure they remain indoors. Retaliation is expected and we don’t know when it will happen,” he said.
Despite not being privy to the information surrounding the shooting, community activist Roegshanda Pascoe said she did not foresee retaliation. Pascoe said only a few shots followed after the shooting, which she said looked like an “internal” job and would die out quickly. She, however, said what was of concern about the incident was that this was yet another young life lost violently.
Pascoe lambasted parents, who she said were turning a blind eye to the dangers of gang activity and those motivating youngsters to join gangs.
“There is nothing to be proud about when your child is part of a gang, but only leads to what happened to Abdullah: shot and killed like an animal. Do we want to pick up our children like that for the rest of our lives? Most of the time these are family members from opposite gangs that have to kill each other.
“We as people should reflect and realise it is us who are killing these children because we support them instead of motivating them to be educated, study further and positively contribute to this country,” Pascoe said.