Sunday June 15, 2025
Residents walk past a Somali-owned spaza shop in Khayelitsha’s Site C on June 14, 2025, as businesses cautiously reopen following a two-day shutdown over gang-related extortion threats. Shopkeepers say they resumed trading after reaching a temporary truce with local groups. (Photo: Misheck Makora/SNL24)
CAPE TOWN, South Africa (HOL) — Somali-run spaza shops in Khayelitsha’s Site C township reopened Friday following a two-day shutdown in protest against escalating extortion by local gangs, which traders say has become unsustainable and life-threatening.
The closures on June 11 and 12 left thousands of residents without access to affordable food and basic goods. With many families dependent on informal stores for daily essentials, the impact was immediate.
“Even kids couldn’t buy chips,” said one resident. “We had to leave Site C just to buy bread or sugar.”
Somali traders say the extortion demands intensified earlier this year when a known gang leader, identified locally as Bhara, was released from prison and began demanding payment from shops already paying other groups. One shopkeeper reported paying R85,000 to Bhara’s group alone, before being approached by a third faction.
“When we said we’re already paying others, they said, ‘We don’t care. We want our money,’” a trader told HOL on condition of anonymity. “Those who can’t pay are targeted. Four shopkeepers were shot in the past two weeks.”
Spaza shops are small, informal convenience stores that form the backbone of township economies across South Africa. Often operated by immigrants, particularly Somalis, they offer affordable goods in underserved neighbourhoods. However, these traders have frequently been targets of xenophobic violence, looting, and extortion. Civil society groups have long called for greater protection of immigrant traders and more proactive policing in townships like Khayelitsha.
The shopkeepers said they reopened after members of the same groups approached them urging them to resume business, fearing police scrutiny following the shutdown.
“They begged us to open. They said the heat was too much and they would address our concerns,” the trader said. “But they don’t live ekasi. They stay in the suburbs and just send boys to collect money.”
Ward 87 Councillor Khayalethu Kama, whose district includes parts of Site C, said he plans to meet with Somali business owners to understand the full extent of the threats.
South African Police Service (SAPS) spokesperson Lieutenant Malcolm Pojie said reinforcements have been deployed to the area to contain gang-related activity.
“We’ve effected several related arrests—some suspects are in custody and linked to extortion cases,” Pojie said. “But we urge all victims to report such incidents.”
“We’ve effected several related arrests—some suspects are in custody and linked to extortion cases,” Pojie said. “But we urge all victims to report such incidents.”
Though reopened, Somali shopkeepers say the climate remains hostile and worry that the gangs may return with fresh demands. Some fear another shutdown may be inevitable.
“We’re just trying to survive,” one shopkeeper said. “But if it continues, we’ll have to close again—maybe for good.”