WHEN residents of Diepsloot struggled to make ends meet, they relied on taking food on credit from "my friend's" spaza shop.
But now evil thugs have killed the Ethiopian shop owner, John Abebe (29), leaving residents of the kasi in the north of Joburg stranded and in pain.
John was shot and killed by unknown suspects on Friday night, 2 June. It's alleged that the suspects approached his spaza shop, which was closed, and pointed a gun at him to empty his cash register.
Residents are now calling for the arrest of the suspects before they strike again.
Nothemba Mandla said the pain of losing John felt like a dagger in the chest.
"I have no words. John was a peoples person, someone who had life. He was sweet and called me mama when he saw me. He was always giving and accommodated us when we had no money to buy things. He had no issue with anyone. As you see us, people of extension seven we are in mourning," said Nothemba.
ALSO READ | Pupil (19) 'KILLED' at bus stop!Opens in new window
She said on the night of the incident, she heard gunshots at about 8pm but didn't take them seriously as it was not something unusual in Diepsloot.
Nothemba told Daily Sun she now fears for her life.
"These are squatter camps. Someone gets killed here all the time. One week itis this one the next it's someone else. Sometimes women fall victim to house robberies. We are scared. We sleep with one eye open," she said.
According to several community members, load shedding has made it easy for thugs to get away with terrorising the community.
Another shop owner, Mengisetu Fikre , said while many might know who these suspects are, they choose to keep quiet because they're scarred.
"We are not safe, and businesses are not safe. We don't know if this is jealousy or what. Customers' lives are also at risk. What if they storm in and start shooting while we are inside the spaza shops?" she said.
Gauteng police spokesman Lieutenant-Colonel Mavela Masondo said cases of murder and business robbery have been opened.
He said no arrests have been made yet and that they cops are still searching for the suspects.
