Lisa Isaacs
A LANSDOWNE man, who was hijacked, shot and his body dumped in the Wolfgat Nature Reserve, was buried yesterday.
While there is uncertainty about the motive in the killing of 27-year-old Imraan Daya, police say no arrests had been made.
Daya went missing on Friday evening when his car was hijacked by armed men, police spokesman Andre Traut said.
Reports soon emerged that he was driven to ATMs, where money was drawn from his bank account.
On Saturday his body was found with gunshot wounds, dumped in the reserve in Mitchells Plain.
“The circumstances surrounding the murder are being investigated and no one has been arrested,” Traut said.
Family and friends who were among 200 people who gathered at the funeral yesterday, at the Islamia Mosque in Lansdowne, described Daya as a grounded and ambitious businessman.
His emotional mother Fatima said she had identified her son’s body on Saturday and said the number of people at the funeral showed how much he was loved.
His girlfriend of six years, Mareldiah Booley, said she had waited for him to let her know when he would be visiting her on Friday night, but instead was told that he was missing.
“He loved cars and soccer and he was full of energy. He was that type of person who would speak to you like he knew you, even if it was the first time you met him. Everyone loved him,” she said.
“His favourite food was peanut butter on bread.”
Daya’s friend of 10 years, Najibah Yaghya, said: “If he was a gangster we would understand, but he wasn’t. We don’t understand why he was killed. Imraan believed in helping the next person.
“He was building himself up to live a prosperous life.
“We knew it was serious once they found his car and his phone in it. He wouldn’t have just left it in his car.”
She said a search began as news spread of his disappearance, with friends and family taking to social media to appeal for help to find him.
Yaghya said Daya had recently bought a St Elmo’s franchise in Claremont, had his own car wash business and also sold cars.