Businessman Mohamed Hussein of Thohoyandou, the owner of a shop at Lwamondo Ha-Mugomeli outside Thohoyandou, has suffered misfortune for a second time. Within the space of a month, the businessman was targeted twice by thieves who broke into his shop and stole thousands of rands worth of stock.
Last weekend, thieves made a major comeback when they broke into his shop once more and made off with stock worth more than R200 000, before setting the shop on fire. The few remaining contents and the building were completely destroyed; the whole building will have to be rebuilt.
Hussein (33) said he was asleep at around 1:15 on Friday when he received a call from a neighbour, notifying him of an unusual noise at the shop. He said that he immediately phoned his security company, who later informed him that the shop was on fire. He rushed there but found that the police and firefighters were already there. They could not save the shop, however, as it was completely gutted.
"What makes me sad is that I am delivering a good service to this community. They appreciate my services and I wonder why thieves would want to target me. The members of the whole community are on my side and they are also helping us clear the debris. We are not running away and will continue our business here," he said.
On behalf of the family, Mr Mmboneni Sivhaga said that the incident was a big blow to the family because of the wholesale destruction. "We do not know where to start, but we have already approached a builder and it will cost us a fortune to rebuild the shop."
Vuwani police spokesperson W /O Elijah Malatjie said that they had opened an arson and housebreaking business docket. He added that the cause of the fire was still unkown, but that forensic experts had taken samples that would determine the cause and origin of the fire. "At this stage no one has been arrested in connection with the incident and our investigations are ongoing," he said.