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Cape Town - He arrived at his building to find the shutters on fire. A peanut butter jar, the inside still reeking of petrol, lay abandoned nearby as they rushed with buckets of water to extinguish the flames.
It was the second petrol bomb attack on his building in Portlands in just two days, said Riedwaan Chalklen.
And he fears that xenophobia may be driving the arsonists to target his property.
The Mitchells Plain landlord said the trouble began when one of his tenants, a Pakistani shopkeeper, began converting the bottom floor into a tuck shop. There had been threats, sent over cellphones or whispered on the street, he said.
“If you open this shop, the blood will flow,” said Chalklen.
But he shrugged them off, content that the shop owner planning to operate from his building would be safe. However, on Thursday as they were finishing of the shop, a beer bottle filled with fuel and chased by a small flame smashed through the open door.
“Everyone thought it was going to explode, but luckily it was a dud,” said Chalklen. “That was a big relief.”
However, the moment of respite was short-lived. At 4am the following day, he arrived at the building to find the shutter at the front on fire. He, and the shop owner, had rushed to quell the blaze but the second attack had already left its mark. The shutters were left scorched and warped.
Police spokesman Captain FC van Wyk said they were investigating the attack and no arrests have yet been made.
“We appeal to the community, anyone who may have information that can assist with the investigation, to call Crime Stop,” he said. Crime Stop can be reached on 08600 10111.
But Chalklen fears that the arsonists may strike again before anyone is behind bars. He admitted the first two attempts at burning down his building were “amateurish”.
“But they may have learned a few lessons.”
Petrol bomb attacks are becoming a common occurrence in Mitchells Plain, with so-called vigilantes constructing their bombs using beer bottles, petrol cans and jars.
In January this year, former Americans gang boss Moegamat “Dimes” Madatt was the apparent victim of a vigilante attack when his Rocklands home was petrol-bombed.
In 2012, several Somali-owned shops in Beacon Valley and Valhalla Park were burnt down in apparent petrol bomb attacks.
In 2011, there were a spate of attacks which left dozens of people homeless after their houses were gutted by arsonists.
kieran.legg@inl.co.za
Cape Argus