City of Cape Town hits back against extortion

The City of Cape Town has obtained a court interdict over access to the Spine Road MyCiTI bus depot. Photo supplied by City of Cape Town

• The City of Cape Town has obtained a court interdict preventing the South African National Civics Association (SANCO) and others from entering a MyCiTI bus depot in Spine Road or threatening staff.
• The City said last month the group removed security guards from the site and threatened to disrupt operations unless their chosen security company was appointed.
• SANCO has denied the accusations.

As extortion tightens its stranglehold on Cape Town, the City is hitting back in court. But some township victims are in hiding, in fear of their lives.

Last week, the Western Cape High Court granted the City of Cape Town an interim interdict preventing the South African National Civic Organisation (SANCO) from entering the MyCiTI Spine Road depot without the City’s express permission.

The interdict orders SANCO and others to stop damaging City property or “intimidating, threatening/harassing, or assaulting” City officials and staff, Bidvest staff, and users of the depots. It also orders them to stop preventing people entering or leaving and stop obstructing the entrances and exits.

The interdict also orders SANCO not to organise protests near the depot and “not to damage any of the City’s assets and/or facilities at the depots concerned”.

According to the City, “on Monday, 24 November, the group forcibly removed from site the legitimately appointed security presence and reiterated threats to disrupt or vandalise the facility unless their preferred security company was appointed”.

This followed an “ambushed” meeting with City officials the previous week “during which community members issued direct threats in the event their demands were not met,” the City said.

“These demands include the removal of the legally-appointed service provider, Bidvest, to be replaced by Sibakhulu, a company that was subcontracted to provide security services during the construction of the depot”.

SANCO has strongly denied the claims and accused the City of side-lining local businesses in favour of big companies. Western Cape spokesperson Buntu Gwija rejected “unsubstantiated allegations linking its officials to extortion”.

Gwija said “should credible evidence ever emerge against any member,” SANCO would act “decisively and without hesitation”.

“To date, no credible report, complaint or evidence has ever been brought to SANCO or to law-enforcement authorities implicating any SANCO official in such activities. On the contrary, SANCO leaders have been some of the most vocal and courageous adversaries of extortion.”

Assassinations

Gwija said several SANCO leaders who had taken a public stand against extortion had been assassinated:

• In July 2021, ANC councillor and Deputy Chairperson of SANCO branch Nokuthula Bolitye was shot dead outside her home in Crossroads.
• In September 2023, ANC Councillor and SANCO leader Arthur Gqeba from Vredenburg was shot and killed outside his home.
• Sonwabile Magida, a member of SANCO’s national executive committee was shot at a car wash in Mfuleni on Saturday 22 March and died in hospital.
• In April 2025, SANCO Atlantis branch chairperson, Moses Matiso, was gunned down while cutting grass at a church.
• In May 2025, Scara Mondli, regional leader of SANCO on the West Coast was shot and killed.
• On 23 June 2025, SANCO Khayelitsha zone leader, Myolisi Magibisela, was shot and killed in his home.

To date, Gwija said, “we have not heard or seen any progress, or anyone arrested”.

He said extortion was one of the most serious threats facing communities in Cape Town, especially on the Cape Flats.

“It is criminal, destructive and morally indefensible. Extortion robs communities of peace, dignity and economic opportunity, and it places innocent people in danger.”

He added: “The City of Cape Town must adopt a stronger, coordinated and intelligence-driven response to extortion. This includes closer collaboration with SAPS, improved protection for whistleblowers and victims, faster prosecution of known extortion networks and more transparent systems that prevent criminal infiltration.”

But, he said, many local businesses felt sidelined by the City.

“Often, information about City projects does not reach local businesses in time, or the criteria are structured in ways that unintentionally exclude smaller community-based businesses.

“To change this, the City must adopt more inclusive and accessible systems, improve communication at ward level and recognise the importance of involving local people in the development of their own areas,” Gwija said.

Victim in hiding

A businessman in Khayelitsha, himself a victim of extortion, also complained that the City of Cape Town overlooked local businesses.

“Residents and businesspeople in Khayelitsha, and other townships in Cape Town, need to be given a fair chance,” he said.

The man said he had been assaulted by extortionists several times, and ordered to “leave the area”. He has been in hiding for a year after being hounded out of his home and had his businesses taken over by extortionists who, he says, will stop at nothing in order to get their way.

The man, 60, who asked not to be named, ran several cleaning and security businesses. GroundUp was told by several residents and other former business owners that their livelihoods –- and their lives -– had been torn apart by extortionists.

“I lost everything – my home, my businesses and my entire livelihood. I came close to losing my life,” the man said.

“I was constantly threatened and intimidated, and my family’s lives were in constant danger. I was in hell.”

He said extortion is “crippling the economy in black communities”.

Khayelitsha, he said, “is no longer a place for clean businesses, but for people who kill and coerce companies that are here to invest in local communities.”

R100-million to protect staff

Asked to respond to Gwija’s comments, City’s spokesperson Luthando Tyhalibongo said: “The City has no further comment.”

“As per the court order, the relevant respondents, inclusive of SANCO, are to represent their case to the Western Cape High Court by Friday 20 February 2026 as to why a final order should not be granted.”

Councillor Rob Quintas, the City’s mayco member responsible for transport, said over R100-million had been allocated to protecting City staff and contractors across various sites.

“Between September 2024 and March 2025, more than 1,900 escorts were conducted, coordinated by the City’s Safety and Security Directorate,” he said.

“The group responsible for these extortion activities appears to consist of individuals affiliated with organisations such as SANCO. The exact composition of the group is still being verified,” Quintas said.

Tyhalibongo said the City had called for an integrated extortion team with SAPS. “But this would need to be led by SAPS as they have the constitutionally mandated investigative powers.

“However, since the launch of the City’s anti-extortion campaign in 2023, the Safety and Security Directorate has actively worked to bring cases to the attention of SAPS for further investigation,” Tyhalibongo said.

“The crime of extortion is endemic in our communities, but it is not fully understood,” said Ndithini Tyhido, leader of the ANC in the council. He said the real extortionists survived because the wrong people were accused.

“We call on the politicians responsible for the running of the City to desist from the criminalisation of community struggles as an easy way out from the sometimes-complex public participation processes,” he said.

Police response

SAPS Western Cape spokesperson Colonel Andre Traut, said “extortion remains a priority focus area for SAPS in this province”.

He said the Extortion Task Team and detectives attached to specialised units including the Anti-Gang Unit and Organised Crime Investigation teams, were making progress dismantling criminal networks responsible for extortion. “Numerous suspects have been arrested for extortion, intimidation, conspiracy to commit extortion and related violent crimes,” he said.

“SAPS has seen notable successes, including arrests of targets linked to organised extortion groups, the disruption of planned attacks, and the securing of several court appearances for accused extortionists,” Traut added.

More about Extortion

• Extortion gangs terrorise Cape Town’s immigrant shop owners 20 November 2025

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