Two Pakistani men who survived a shooting that killed four in Mitchells Plain have returned to their home country.
|||Cape Town - Two Pakistani men who survived a shooting that claimed the lives of four other Pakistanis at a bakery distribution point in Mitchells Plain have returned to their home country.
Asif Nadeem and Shahzad Ahmed were shot several times, but survived the attack on March 19.
Shafique Muhammad, 42, Adnan Haider, 23, Ghulam Baqar, 23, and Shahzad Ahmad, 39, died in the attack.
At the time, Pakistanis living in Mitchells Plain alleged the murders were a hit organised by a rival businessman.
The three men accused of their murder - Lehano Jasen, 28, Mogamat de Villiers, 43 and Yazeed Hendricks, 41 - appeared briefly in the Mitchells Plain Magistrate’s court on Monday.
Their bail application was postponed after De Villiers appointed a new attorney.
De Villiers, who is detained at Pollsmoor prison, was granted a transfer last month after claiming he had been threatened and a gun found in the cell next to his at Goodwood Prison. Magistrate Walter Golding postponed the case to June 14.
Outside court, Abid Hussain, who owns the bakery and is related to the four murdered men, said the two survivors had returned to Pakistan on May 19.
“They left for Pakistan a week ago because they are simply too scared to stay in Mitchells Plain.”
He added that the men could not sleep at night and their families insisted they return home.
“Their family wanted them home. However, if the court needs them as witnesses they would return.
“They also received counselling, but there was a language barrier.”
Iftikhar Butt, general secretary of the Pakistani Community Welfare Association of the Western Cape, said there had been several more incidents of violence at Pakistani owned shops in recent months.
“More shops were robbed after the incident, this included Philippi and Mitchells Plain.
“Jobs are created for South Africans (at Pakistani shops), such as a large wholesaler that will be opening soon.
“We as the Pakistani community need support and we don’t feel inferior because we are part of the community.”
natasha.bezuidenhout@inl.co.za
Cape Argus