Four-year-old Liyolatha Baliso was killed in the crossfire as alleged extortion gangs exchanged gunfire in Milnerton, Western Cape – a victim of the extortion menace that has held many parts of the country in its grip.
Sinovuyo Baliso said her daughter was rushed to hospital with a gunshot wound in her stomach, where she succumbed to her injuries a few days after the incident on August 24.
“It is still very sore and traumatic. As a family we are all still trying to process what happened. She was ripped from us in such a brutal manner.
“When it happened, Liyolatha was playing with her group of friends, they were about five, when we heard gunshots.
She was shot. It hurts very much. I think I am still in denial about everything that happened. I have been offered trauma support and counselling and started with it this week,” said Baliso.
Liyolatha is expected to be buried in the Eastern Cape this weekend. The neighbouring Joe Slovo settlement, also in Milnerton, was the scene of a crime last Thursday after four men believed to be involved in extortion-related crimes were killed in a shootout with the police. Four accomplices in a Toyota Quantum were wounded and taken to a nearby hospital, where they remain under police guard.
Four firearms and rounds of ammunition were seized from their vehicle.
In KwaZulu-Natal extortion gangs have targeted a farm owner in Camper down, whose workers were chased off the farm at gunpoint by a “land Mafia syndicate” who were selling plots on private trust-owned land.
“We had guys on the backs of bakkies driving around and just shooting at people, so it’s extremely violent. They were selling plots on Facebook,” she said.
Another landowner, whose property borders the privately owned land being targeted, said that organised criminals illegally mark out plots they advertise on Facebook.
“Unsuspecting buyers come and find a beautiful plot, they pay their R70 000 and they put up beautiful big houses, but eventually these will have to be demolished. When the legitimate owners of the land object, they are intimidated,” she said.
Police Minister Senzo Mchunu told MPs on Tuesday that they were pinning their hopes on crime intelligence’s increased capacity to help curb the spread of extortion-related crimes.
Institute for Security Studies crime expert Williem Els told The Mercury’s sister publication, The Star, on Wednesday that police were unable to deal with the construction Mafias and extortionists because they had been allowed to operate with impunity for a long time.
“The longer these groups are active, the stronger they become and the more they get protection from higher ranks.
These syndicates have to corrupt state actors in order to protect them, so also the stronger they become, the more vulnerable the state becomes,” he added.
The odds were against the police in this regard, Els said.
“It’s still early times, unfortunately, but we still have to wait and see because the proof is in the pudding. It seems like the new minister has some strategy in place that he wants to implement, he also made some right noises.
“Police will never be able to win against corruption if they don’t clean up their camp. They must start to demonstrate their competence.”
The Mercury