Residents report that many shops in the Crossroads area have been closed in recent days due to allegations of extortion and intimidation.
Fear has gripped parts of Crossroads, Cape Town, after dozens of spaza shops, many owned by Somali and other African foreign nationals, remained closed for days this week amid allegations of escalating extortion by armed criminal gangs.
The closures come just days after the Labour and Civic Organisation (LACO) claimed that business owners in parts of Cape Town were facing threats from so-called protection fee gangs, warning that criminal extortion was forcing traders to either pay up or shut down.
Since around Wednesday, residents have taken to social media to report that many neighbourhood spaza shops were no longer operating, leaving communities with limited access to basic groceries and other essentials.
Several videos, purportedly recorded by CCTV cameras inside different spaza shops, have also been widely shared online. The footage appears to show armed men entering or approaching shops while customers are making purchases. In several clips, customers are seen hurriedly leaving before the shops abruptly close.
