Following reports by the Laudium Sun on its social media pages, concerning a fight in the Laudium CBD, between a group of Pakistanis and security guards, the previous Wednesday, (Feb 11), more information has now emerged.
It has since been made obvious, after the Pakistan South African Association (PSAA) strangely but so eagerly released a statement condemning the fight, that the PSAA is a rival to those Pakistanis who are friends with the ‘Wasim’ family, who were believed to be involved in the fight. This PSAA statement was unusual as they have remained silent on many other acts of violence whereby local Pakistanis were implicated, including the recent violent fight at Bismillah Restaurant in the Laudium CBD. At that fight, CPF members of Pakistani origin were present and are believed to have assisted the perpetrators to make a getaway when police arrived at the scene. Concerning the post by the Laudium Sun of the fight on Feb 11, which amongst others stated, “ACCORDING TO REPORTS, certain members of the Laudium CPF who are originally from Pakistan, assisted the culprits to make a getaway,” the PSAA was quick to release a statement denying that their Pakistani members in the CPF were involved or assisted any Pakistani involved in the fight, adding that the statement was “unfair.” This was despite the Laudium Sun not mentioning anything about PSAA members in the CPF. The PSAA statement thus now makes it clear that all Laudium CPF members of Pakistani origin belong to the PSAA. After some enquiries, it has now emerged that Cllr Naeem Patel and CPF Chairperson Shaheen Wahab are closely associated with the PSAA and in fact both are often invited to their functions, with Patel even addressing the PSAA and receiving awards from them. In turn, many members of the PSAA are part of the various groupings where Naeem and Shaheen are involved, including the Laudium CPF, the local ANC branch and Patel’s Ward Committee. The rival Pakistani group known as the ‘Wasim’ group is believed to be disliked by Patel and Wahab, as Patel seemingly sees the wife of Raja Wasim, Shanaaz, as a threat to his political ambitions and thus often badmouths the Wasim couple. Shanaaz sits on the Exco of the ANC Women’s League at the regional level and is also a member of the ANC Regional Committee. Although Patel lobbied to be elected to the ANC Regional Committee, it was Shanaaz who succeeded in gaining a position, much to Patel’s disappointment. Patel is now desperately trying to woo support from ANC Provincial Chair Panyaza Lesufi and regional chair, his bosom friend Eugene Modise, to move up the corrupt and broken ANC ladder. Many residents said they now understand why both Naeem and Shaheen, together with PSAA members, were calling for police action against the Pakistanis involved in the fight, as they were from the ‘Wasim’ group.
In response to the fight, Raja Wasim, a businessman from 4th Avenue, Laudium, spoke to the Laudium Sun, alleging: “I am the brother of Ramiz Raja, who was badly beaten by the Scorpion Security guards on Tangerine Street on 11 February. On the day of the incident, I received a call from my employee informing me that the security guards were attacking my younger brother, Ramiz. When I arrived at the scene, I saw my brother covered in blood, including his face and eyes. The sight was shocking and deeply disturbing, as he was clearly injured and in pain. When I approached the security guards about what they had done, they began shooting at me as well. They fired more than ten bullets toward my feet, apparently to scare and intimidate me. The gunshots were loud and caused panic in the area. I was extremely angry and overwhelmed by what I was witnessing. Along with three or four of my Pakistani friends who were with me at the time, we started defending ourselves against the aggressive security guards in order to stop further harm to any of us and to get medical attention for my injured brother. During the struggle, we managed to disarm one of the security guards who wanted to shoot us and who had been attacking Ramiz. Because they were shooting at us, one of my associates also fired a shot, which hit one of the security guards in the ear. After that, the security guards ran away from the scene and went into Irfan Dodi’s brother’s shop, known as ‘Dodi’s Brother Cell Phone Shop’ on Tangerine Street. The Dodi brothers allowed the guards to enter and escape from us. We believe that the Dodi brothers were responsible for sending the security guards to attack my brother, following instructions believed to be from ANC Ward 61 Councillor Naeem Patel. We have witnesses who can testify to this and their statements can be provided. We believe this was not a random incident but something that had been planned in advance. We have reason to believe that Cllr Naeem has been collecting ‘protection fees’ from Pakistani shop owners in the area. Patel, together with the CPF chairperson, Shaheen Wahab, have often been implicated in warning shop owners to close their businesses whenever police or immigration raids take place in the area, allowing certain individuals to avoid getting caught. This system of collecting ‘protection fees’ is believed to have been operating for some time. In this particular case with the health inspectors, we believe that it was planned because the meat shop was not paying the protection money that was being demanded. The health inspectors were sent to the shop to force it to close. There is video footage from a nearby pizza shop, owned by the Dodi brothers, which shows that a number of pizzas were received on the same day for nine health inspectors, allegedly as a bribe. This footage is believed to support the claim that the events of that day were coordinated. According to this account, the attack on my brother and the attempt to close the meat shop were part of a larger plan. Some days before the incident, Naeem Patel called me and claimed that he was more powerful than President Cyril Ramaphosa and that no one could touch him. He also claimed to have more people supporting him than the ANC. These statements were shocking and raised serious concerns about the influence he believes he holds. Naeem and his associate CPF members, including Shaheen Wahab, the chairperson of the CPF, are believed to be running a syndicate that demands money from foreign national shop owners in Laudium in exchange for protection from police officers and immigration officials. I have reason to believe that this entire situation with the inspectors coming to the butcher was carefully planned and coordinated. The meat shop has been operating for a long time and there have been no previous complaints about it. On the particular day in question, the health inspectors are believed to have demanded money from the butcher owner, but he refused to pay. After the refusal, the inspectors reportedly demanded meat and took almost 100 kilograms combined of fresh chicken and sheep meat. The meat was fresh and not rotten or spoiled. All of this is believed to have been preplanned because the meat shop did not pay any money to Naeem Patel. The community of Laudium should not ignore what is happening and should be aware of the serious allegations being raised. I believe that Naeem Patel is dishonest and is destroying and dividing the community on a large scale.”
Ramiz Raja, a resident of 4th Avenue, Laudium, who was present at the shooting incident on Tangerine Street, also spoke to the Laudium Sun, alleging: “One of my friends called me to the butcher shop on Tangerine Street, which is owned by Shakeel. He asked me to please come and assist him because he cannot speak English well and there were food inspectors at his shop. I went there with my close friend Riad, who sat in the car while I went inside to assist. When I went in, I saw that the inspectors were issuing a fine and confiscating meat from the shop. I asked them what was happening because I wanted to understand the situation. The officers explained that they had previously given a warning to Shakeel and that they were now taking action. While I was speaking to the officers, a third person approached me. He was a tall South African Black male who came walking from the opposite side, near the ABSA Bank side. I was facing that direction and saw him walking towards me. He came directly to me and asked, ‘What are you doing here and who are you?’ I asked him who he was and why he was questioning me while I was speaking to the health department officials. I nevertheless explained why I was there, but while doing so he suddenly started pushing me and said, ‘You don’t know me. You don’t know what I can do.’ When he pushed me, I pushed him back in self-defence. Immediately after that, I saw a security guard approaching from the Imran Supermarket side carrying a firearm. He came toward us and asked what was happening and why we were fighting. However, he did not question or stop the man who had first pushed me. I explained that I had no problem and that the man had approached and pushed me while I was speaking to the officials. The security guard then told me to run away. I asked why I should run because I had only come to assist my friend regarding the fine and confiscation of meat. Without any further discussion, the security guard pointed his firearm and fired a shot into the ground, again telling me to run. I did not understand why I was being treated in that manner when I had done nothing wrong. Another security guard then arrived and both of them began pushing me. I pushed back in an attempt to defend myself. My friend Riad then came in to assist me after seeing the situation from the car. One of the guards pointed a firearm at him and threatened him as well. The guards then began physically assaulting us. Shortly afterward, two more guards approached from the opposite side near ABSA Bank, close to a cell phone shop. It appeared that Irfan Dodi, who owns the cell phone shop known as Dodi’s Brothers, had called them over. When they reached the scene, one of them struck me on the back of my head with a firearm. I immediately fell to the ground. While I was down, they hit me near my eye and continued to assault me severely. There were approximately five guards attacking me at the same time. Even while I was lying on the ground, they continued beating me and firing shots in front of me, creating fear and chaos. Someone contacted my brother Raja informing him about what was happening. When my brother arrived at the scene, the security guards also began shooting in his direction. After that, the guards ran away from the area and went inside the cell phone shop opposite the bank, where they hid until the police arrived.”
Mohamed Riad, a resident of Primrose Street, Laudium, also spoke to the Laudium Sun, alleging: “On Wednesday, 11 February, while I was at a business establishment with my colleague Ramiz, we went to a butchery in Laudium in order to provide support. When we arrived, I remained seated inside the vehicle while Ramiz entered the establishment to speak with the individuals inside. From where I was parked, I observed what appeared to be a disagreement between Ramiz and an unidentified individual. As the situation continued, I felt it necessary to step out of the vehicle to intervene in what appeared to be a minor dispute and to ensure that the matter did not escalate further. As I approached the scene, I witnessed a local businessman, Irfan Dodi, directing his security personnel towards Ramiz. Shortly after I reached the area where Ramiz was standing, the security guards began assaulting him. I saw one of the guards strike him on the back of the head with a rifle. The situation escalated rapidly and without warning. When I attempted to assist my colleague and prevent further harm to him, I was also assaulted by the security personnel. During this confrontation, live rounds were discharged in our direction, creating panic and fear. Despite the events that unfolded, both Ramiz and I were subsequently charged with assault. This occurred even though there is compelling video evidence showing that the security personnel initiated the aggression and were the ones who discharged firearms at the scene. The footage, as understood, clearly demonstrates the sequence of events and indicates that we were responding to action taken against us. During the process of being charged, I overheard a local warrant officer in discussion with someone believed to be the local CPF chairman. In that conversation, instructions were allegedly given to a security guard to state that I had discharged a weapon. That claim is false. At no point did I fire any weapon. My actions during the incident were limited to attempting to protect myself and my colleague from harm. I moved around a parked vehicle in an effort to evade the gunfire coming from the security personnel and to avoid being struck by any bullets. Members of the local community became aware of the situation and intervened. Their involvement played a critical role in preventing further injury. Community members managed to disarm the security guards, which brought a level of control to an otherwise chaotic and dangerous scene. Their actions prevented the matter from escalating further and potentially causing more serious consequences. I maintain full confidence in the justice system and believe that forensic and ballistic evidence collected from the scene will clearly and objectively establish the facts. Such evidence will demonstrate who discharged firearms and under what circumstances. I am confident that these findings will unequivocally confirm my innocence and allow me to pursue this matter further through the appropriate legal channels. At present, I have initiated an inquiry with the Independent Police Investigative Directorate (IPID) regarding the alleged misconduct of the warrant officer involved. I am awaiting a formal report from the security personnel and the relevant authorities. I believe that a thorough and impartial investigation will bring clarity to the events of that day and ensure that accountability is upheld.”
The Laudium Sun attempted to speak to the wounded Scorpion Security guard, but he refused to comment further on the matter. Attempts to obtain comment from both Naeem and Shaheen were unsuccessful.