A resident of an affluent neighbourhood in Cape Town has had his car petrol bombed because wealthy locals did not like him feeding homeless people during the lockdown.
The incident took place in Sea Point, one of Cape Town’s most affluent and densely populated suburbs, located in the south-western South African province of Western Cape.
There is reportedly unreleased CCTV footage of two men arriving on a motorbike and throwing a flammable object, believe to be a petrol bomb, at Peter Wagenaar’s Mini Cooper.
According to local media, Facebook users on the ‘Atlantic Seaboard Action Group’ shared Wagenaar’s personal details, including his home address, because he was feeding homeless people during the COVID-19 lockdown and affluent residents believed it was unlawful.
Politician and secretary general of the GOOD movement Brett Heron confirmed the feeding scheme was legal and he reportedly filed a complaint against the Facebook group for some of the posts.
Group members shared Wagenaar’s home address and details of his car which was set alight soon afterwards, according to local media.
Wagenaar told reporters that a local nurse heard a motorbike arrive in the area at 3.35am.
He said: “She popped her head out of the window, and she just saw a motorbike buzzing off, doing a u-turn and then shooting up the road with two people on, and that’s now been confirmed by CCTV footage.”
The victim said that he has not yet seen the CCTV footage, but the local police explained that it shows two men arriving on a motorbike before throwing something on his car which burst into flames.
Meanwhile, kindhearted friends and neighbours have set up a fundraising campaign so Wagenaar can buy a new car.
The police investigation is ongoing.
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Story By: Lee Bullen, Sub-Editor: Michael Leidig, Agency: Central European News
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