Kidnapping, shooting, assaulting, setting fire, robbing…
Members of the Eastdene community have been the target of criminals for years.
The son of community leader Farouk Suliman (78) was shot with an AK-47 at Bomwinkel years ago.

He said last week that the most barbaric attack was when the owner of Saverite was tied up, and his shop was burnt to the ground, with the owner inside.
“He was just left there to burn to death,” said Suliman.
Mahomed Cassim (64) freed himself and escaped a horrific death, but his lifelong hard work and his livelihood all went up in flames.

Three shops in the Eastdene complex were destroyed, and millions of rands worth of damage was caused.
Cassim was held at gunpoint and left for dead, as three criminals robbed his store and left it in flames in 2023.
The robbers forced him to lie on the ground and stare at the floor, and repeatedly kicked him.
He prayed he would make it out alive to see his family again. He then heard a massive explosion, which he described as sounding like a bomb.

Cassim, injured and frightened, then found the strength to get up and make his way towards the back entrance of the store. He then called the fire brigade, as the flames from the explosion began to turn his entire life’s work to ash.

And now, a month ago, there was another murder when Muhammad (also known by some as Mahmood) Nasir was kidnapped and shot dead.
According to Suliman, this was the third attempt to kidnap Nasir.
Nasir was attacked in the street outside his Eastdene home by four suspects. He tried to escape, but was overpowered and forced into the boot of a silver Audi A4.

Video footage later handed to the police shows how he was shot twice while in the boot by one of the suspects, using what appears to be an AK-47 rifle.
The Audi was later tracked by the police and multiple security and emergency response teams, with several multidisciplinary groups working together to locate the vehicle and arrest a suspect.

Nasir was a well-known businessman in Middelburg and the owner of Welcome Cash and Carry and Welcome Foods.

• In October last year, residents were sleeping when a homeowner heard his door being kicked in at around 03:00.
The homeowner went to the door, and an unknown man outside told him he was from the police and the homeowner should let him in.

When he opened the door, he saw three men wearing balaclavas with handguns.
They forced him into the house, where they bound him, his wife, and his brother with shoelaces. The robbers then ransacked the home, and cash and jewellery were stolen.

A similar incident happened the week before, when an elderly woman in Eastdene was robbed.
A Chinese resident was also left paralysed at around the same time after being shot in the chest during a similar robbery.

June 2024

Two suspects posed as police officers, wearing black tactical utility belts with guns, while another suspect was only wearing a blue beanie with a SAPS badge.
The perpetrators raided a house and made off with cash, jewellery, and a cellphone.
Fortunately, no one was harmed during the robbery.

February 2024

Ahmed Mohammed was gunned down in the safety of his home, and his sister was assaulted by armed robbers in Oos Street.
Mohammed’s sister Maimoonah, who lives on the same premises, told the Middelburg Observer that a group of suspects entered the property and accosted live-in employees who were bathing at the time.
The suspects pointed their firearms at the employees, then entered the main house, where Mohammed and his wife were.

Maimoonah heard screaming followed by gunshots, which spurred her into running from her home to her brother’s house. The armed men then hit her in the face with a gun. She sustained significant injuries to her face during the altercation.
The suspects then fled in Mohammed’s black Toyota Etios, number plate FVC 769 MP.
Eight suspects were involved.

“Over the years, families have been held up, tortured, and bitten by intruders, who then steal money and valuables,” Suliman said.
“There was a kidnapping and shooting at the trading store of Haroon Mitha at Duvha Power Station. Mitha was shot, and his wife was kidnapped. He was paralysed for several years till his death due to his injuries. During the early 90s, there was a holdup at a car dealership, and Riaz Gani (28) was shot and killed. Other families I know who were attacked include the Bapoji and Patel families, and Cassim Gani.

There were numerous other robberies which I cannot recall. The criminal justice system has failed us hopelessly, especially due to serious corruption in the SAPS. Criminals are not afraid of the law,” he concluded.