By Buziwe Nocuze
A Cape Town mother didn’t know why her tenants were leaving after just a few months – until she found out her 15-year-old son was scaring them off.
He and his friends had been asking the tenants – at gunpoint – to pay a protection fee.
“The last tenant who left told me they couldn’t be bullied by a 15-year-old and his friends,” the mother said.
“At first, I thought my son and his friends were just making noise, but I never imagined they were taking money from the tenants.
“I don’t know where they got the gun they use to threaten the tenants. Perhaps the older guys gave it to them, but I need help to stop my son from doing this with his friends,” she said.
Her son demanded R500 or more from each tenant, promising they wouldn’t be bothered again.
“I’m really sad because the tenants he’s chasing away are paying rent, which helps feed him and buy his clothes. I need help,” the mother said.
“I hate it when people demand protection fees because others are working hard to support their families, and then my son comes and takes their money for free.”
Dumisani Qwabe, secretary of the Nyanga community policing forum, said: “If the boy has a cellphone, the mother should give us his contact details so we can try to stop him from breaking the law. We must support this mother because she did the right thing by asking for help.”
Pictured above: An AI-generated image of a worried mother with her teenage son in the background.
Source: Generated by AI tool Midjourney
