Five hours later and business owners in the Atlantis CBD were still waiting for Atlantis police to respond following a break-in.
Abdulrazaq Jama, who owns a shop in Wesfleur Circle, said he received a call from the security company members in the early hours of Thursday 2 November, saying they suspected the alarm at his shop had been tampered with.
On inspection, Jama found his shop had been broken into. Burglars had taken out the bathroom window, climbed into the roof and deactivated the alarm system.
He walked to the police station, a few metres away to report the case and was told a van would be sent to the premises — hours later, there was still no sign of them. During the morning he walked to the police station five times, and every time he was turned away and told a van would respond. It never did.
Merchandise to the value of R40 000 was stolen which, according to the owner, was the third time in a year his shop has been broken into, and in none of these incidents have police been of any help. “The police are discriminating against us because we are Somalian,” Jama said. “We do not get any assistance from them.”
An upset Umer Dollie, owner of Dollies Centre in Wesfleur Circle and Mark Street, said the burglars gained access to Juma’s shop by using a hydraulic jack that pushed the security gates apart to gain entry to the premises (Dollies Centre has gates to control access). He also said he phoned the police numerous times, but to no avail.
Police spokesperson Capt Cyril Dicks said police aren’t discriminating against the Somalian business owners, adding that he personally spoke with the complainant. “Unfortunately, SASSA pay-outs were being done at various points and the police had their hands full,” he said.
