Last week, a specialist ophthalmologist, Dr Anele Yako, from Mthatha announced the permanent closure of his consulting rooms and went into hiding, citing threats to his life. He said he had been a victim of extortionists who were demanding a protection fee which he refused to pay.
It has since emerged that the business extortion racket, which also targeted schools and doctors, has extended its footprint to Gqeberha, and also targeting tavern and hair salon owners and street vendors.
National police commissioner Gen Fanie Masemola announced this week that multidisciplinary teams of police officers have been deployed in the Eastern Cape to prevent, combat and investigate gangs behind the violence and extortion.
“We are living in fear and we feel like doctors are easy targets because our businesses don’t have high-end security because it costs a lot of money. These thugs know that most of our patients are poor and they pay us in cash,” said Dr Monde.
He said he initially did not want to succumb to the demands of the extortionists. “I paid them because they were starting to intimidate my patients and I was starting to lose business because people were scared of coming to my practice.
“The bad reputation was starting to eat at my pocket. The cases of robbery were reported to the police but I kept quiet about the intimidation and the fact that I had to pay a fee for my safety. Unfortunately, I can’t close the practice or move anywhere else because business extortion is a growing trend in Gqeberha,” said the doctor.
Ward councillor Bulelani Matenjwa said extortion was a new phenomenon in Motherwell and has caused fear among business owners. “These thugs normally target businesses that are dealing in cash and are soft targets. We had a situation where they were starting to intimidate street vendors and I had to intervene by confronting these thugs with the police and the intimidation stopped,” he said.
“They’ve become more violent and randomly shoot at taverns whose owners refuse to pay the protection fee. It’s different gangs and once they are done collecting money from the establishment, they move to the next and then another gang takes over extorting from the same business that had been paying the first gang. Business owners are scared to speak and report the extortion.”
*Not his real name.
SowetanLIVE
Doctors live in fear as extortionists increasingly target medical practices
Schools, salons and street vendors asked to pay 'protection fee'
Image: 123RF
Businesses in townships and small towns are struggling as extortion gangs intimate and demand protections fees from them. This week police ministry deployed teams of investigators to the Eastern Cape to probe the violence and intimidation, Lindile Sifile and Herman Moloi report.
Frequently robbed Dr Monde* had to pay his attackers R500 in cash to stop them from robbing and terrorising his practice and his patients.
His practice in Gqeberha, Eastern Cape, had been robbed four times in a space of six months last year, and to stop further incidents, he was forced to pay the robbers a “protection fee” to wad them off.
“The last robbery happened in March, and they told me they’ll come back if I don’t pay them. The last five months have been quiet but I still live in fear they will [return] and ask for more money from me,” said Dr Monde, who has been practising in Motherwell for more than 20 years.
He said the thugs, some of whom he had treated, would take cellphones and jewellery and other equipment from patients waiting in his practice. He has since put up a burglar door and hired a security guard to man the entrance into his practice.
Last week, a specialist ophthalmologist, Dr Anele Yako, from Mthatha announced the permanent closure of his consulting rooms and went into hiding, citing threats to his life. He said he had been a victim of extortionists who were demanding a protection fee which he refused to pay.
It has since emerged that the business extortion racket, which also targeted schools and doctors, has extended its footprint to Gqeberha, and also targeting tavern and hair salon owners and street vendors.
National police commissioner Gen Fanie Masemola announced this week that multidisciplinary teams of police officers have been deployed in the Eastern Cape to prevent, combat and investigate gangs behind the violence and extortion.
“We are living in fear and we feel like doctors are easy targets because our businesses don’t have high-end security because it costs a lot of money. These thugs know that most of our patients are poor and they pay us in cash,” said Dr Monde.
He said he initially did not want to succumb to the demands of the extortionists. “I paid them because they were starting to intimidate my patients and I was starting to lose business because people were scared of coming to my practice.
“The bad reputation was starting to eat at my pocket. The cases of robbery were reported to the police but I kept quiet about the intimidation and the fact that I had to pay a fee for my safety. Unfortunately, I can’t close the practice or move anywhere else because business extortion is a growing trend in Gqeberha,” said the doctor.
Ward councillor Bulelani Matenjwa said extortion was a new phenomenon in Motherwell and has caused fear among business owners. “These thugs normally target businesses that are dealing in cash and are soft targets. We had a situation where they were starting to intimidate street vendors and I had to intervene by confronting these thugs with the police and the intimidation stopped,” he said.
“They’ve become more violent and randomly shoot at taverns whose owners refuse to pay the protection fee. It’s different gangs and once they are done collecting money from the establishment, they move to the next and then another gang takes over extorting from the same business that had been paying the first gang. Business owners are scared to speak and report the extortion.”
*Not his real name.
SowetanLIVE
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