Cape Town - Salt River residents are reeling in shock after a popular businessman was mercilessly gunned down over the weekend, after encouraging young men to stay away from gangs.
Heartbroken relatives of Mujaheed Allie, 31, said they have been traumatised after he came under attack by a lone gunman who even tried to kill his wife.
According to a 31-year-old, who asked not to be named for safety reasons, they could not believe their eyes when arriving at the crime scene near the Salt River bridge on Saturday night.
The relative said they were informed that Allie was lured to his death.
“Mujaheed got a call from someone who asked to borrow money. The shooting happened between 7pm and 7.15pm.
“He arrived with his wife, who was the driver of the vehicle, and they waited for the person he spoke to, but he never arrived.
“Instead a man with a gun arrived and just started shooting at the driver’s side window. The two shots missed his wife. The one shot hit him in the side and went out through his heart.”
The relative further explained that the gunman fired two shots through the windscreen and ran around the vehicle and attempted to shoot Allie in the face when his wife jumped to cover him.
“The gunman then tried to shoot his wife but the gun jammed and he instead hit her twice over the head with the gun and ran away.
“She was left with two gashes in her head. As he ran away, he ran straight into a group of men, of which one was a family member of Mujaheed and he was caught and handed over to police.”
Police spokesperson Joseph Swartbooi confirmed the murder.
“Woodstock police responded to a complaint in Salt River on Saturday. Upon arrival in Voortrekker Road at around 7.35pm, they were informed that the victim who sustained multiple gunshots was rushed to a nearby hospital with private transport.
“According to reports, he was seated in a vehicle with a female, when unknown gunmen approached, firing numerous gunshots. The suspect, a 26-year-old man who fled the scene, was apprehended and is in custody. Woodstock police are investigating a case of murder,” said Swartbooi.
Allie’s family said they believe the motive for the murder was jealousy.
“We think it was a set-up and jealousy. Mujaheed was not a gangster and worked with his father doing ceiling and partitioning, and they were doing very well financially.
“About a week ago, there was an incident with the gangs where he tried to encourage the young gang members to stop being holborsels (bootlickers) for the gang and tried to encourage them that there is more to life than what the gangs had to offer and there was an argument. His family is heartbroken at this loss.”
A representative of the Woodstock Community Policing Forum (CPF), G Adams, said they are aware of the incident.
“We are aware of the incident, but this was an isolated incident.
“There are gangs operating in the Woodstock precinct and when there are arguments there are some shootings, but nothing on a large scale.
“The precinct has also seen an increase in petty crimes such as car jamming and burglaries,” said Adams.