In my view: The Shisa nyama heist

I must say, I love the South Coast. Not because I grew up here, but because you can run, but cannot hide.

What do I mean, well on a serious note, it is believed that the ‘terrorist’ Sea Park Serial Rapist has been apprehended and remanded in custody.

If you are an avid reader of our newspaper then you probably saw an identikit of the terrorist that I am referring to.

I call him a terrorist because that is exactly what he is, an individual that terrorised an entire neighbourhood not only posing a threat to the women in the area, but the men and children who sat in fear not knowing when he might break into their homes to kill, steal or rape.

When people live in fear because of you then surely you should qualify as a terrorist of sort.

However, on a lighter note, going back to how this blog initially started, if you are a resident of the South Coast you can run but you can’t hide.

I say this because last year, I was beginning to forge a friendship with a gentleman whom I had known from my days in school. A budding farmer and entrepreneur, this ‘gentleman’ started a meat stokvel that would range for 10 months (March to December) where all participants contributed money, with the hope of a handsome and meaty pay out come December.

With contribution packages ranging from monthly payments of R300 to R800, it seemed promising because most of the support came from his peers and people he grew up with. What could go wrong? A guy you’ve probably known for almost 15 years or more, promises you the ‘meatiest’ festive season you will ever have if you support his business.

March turned into April, and April to May all the way until the day of promise in December where the pay outs were meant to be given out to the respective investors.

Instead of a lovely meat delivery, all the stokvel participants found themselves served with silence.

Silence became one tick on WhatsApp, and one tick on WhatsApp became “the number you have dialled does not exist”. This is when his face began to frequently pop up on my social media timeline, as angry posts from the stokvel participants demanded their meat or money before Christmas.

Believe me when I say that not even his own family knew his whereabouts. The few who could reach him before he went off grid, he told stories to of a business partner who swindled him but without using Tinder.

Christmas came and went and so did New Year’s Eve and even Valentine’s Day without a word from our man. Until recently, being Tuesday night when I saw him post a WhatsApp status that read along the lines of, “I am ready to tell my story”.

I don’t know about you, but I am ready to hear it.

HAVE YOUR SAY

Like the South Coast Herald’s Facebook page, follow us on Twitter and Instagram