An international disaster relief organisation has called for urgent intervention from Police Minister Bheki Cele, after one of their teen volunteers was gunned down in a gang shooting in Hanover Park on Friday.
Ameerodien Noordien, 19, a volunteer for the Gift of the Givers, died in his father’s arms after being shot multiple times when a gunman opened fire on a group of boys at a shop in Surwood Road.
Father Mogamat Alwie, 46, says he heard the shots but had no idea that his son had been hit.
“He came home that night and gave his mother Fatiema, 44, and me money, and he went to buy cigarettes when the shooting happened," he explains
“I was on my way out and I heard the skote klap and came inside but then I heard his sister scream that they shot him and I ran back. They shot him six times and I held him as he died in my arms. He tried to say something but couldn’t talk. This will always stay with me,” the heartbroken father says.
Police spokesperson Captain FC van Wyk says at about 7.50pm, an unidentified suspect approached the boys and took out a firearm.
“The suspect shot at the victims multiple times and struck all four victims. One of the victims passed on due to the nature of his injuries.
“Circumstances surrounding the incident is unknown at this stage.”
Another GotG volunteer, who asked not to be named, says he was shot three times in the leg but managed to run away.
BROKEN-HEARTED: Fatiema and Mogamat Alwie
“When I looked to see why Ameerodien was not running, only then did I see he was dead,” the friend says.
Mom Fatiema, who suffers from kidney failure, says her son was the family’s breadwinner.
“I go for dialysis every day and he always helps to wash me. When he came home that night, he hugged me tight and gave me his wages and went to the shop. I feel sick because my child was not a gangster and didn’t deserve this,” the crying mom says.
Gift of the Givers manager, Ali Sablay, says Ameerodien and other boys from Manenberg and Bishop Lavis had just returned from the Eastern Cape where they had taken water to farms badly affected by a drought.
“The farmers in the Northern Cape and Eastern Cape were in shock when they heard what happened to him and have now come forward to offer their support for the family,” says Sablay.
The organisation has also appealed to Cele take action.
“Western Cape needs a Westbury-style intervention and we call upon you to make this a reality,” wrote Sablay in an open letter to Cele.
Cele launched a joint intelligence-driven operation in the Joburg suburb last week after communities demanded action against gangsters.
On Friday, eight suspects who feature on the police’s most wanted list were arrested in the area, Brigadier Mathapelo Peters said on Sunday.
Ameerodien’s family hopes to bury him today as they were still waiting for his body to be released from the mortuary on Sunday.