Cape Town – A neighbour of the deceased Emaan Solomons' family in Ocean View, Sonja Alexander, has blamed the girl's father for her house being torched after a prayer meeting on Wednesday.
Alexander, who claimed that Emaan's father, Azmir Oosthuizen, was involved with Pagad, condemned the fact that the "wrong people's houses" are being targeted on the premise they were involved in drug dealing.
She said Oosthuizen, who is due to bury his 7-year-old child today after she was killed on Tuesday in alleged gang-related crossfire, had continually been pointing at her house to various "Muslim men" during the prayer meeting. Immediately thereafter her house was targeted.
The City of Cape Town Fire and Rescue Service on Thursday confirmed that a double-storey house caught alight as well as another dwelling and when reports came in of other houses ablaze, the fire service was warned not to enter by the police as the area was extremely volatile.
Alexander told African News Agency (ANA) photojournalist Tracey Adams: "We had a prayer hour (on Wednesday). The child’s father was standing in between the crowd all the time.
"He was the one who was pointing towards my house. Each time a different Muslim man was standing next to him, he pointed at my house.
"I told my daughter to go over to him and enquire why he was continually pointing at my house. His response was that the klong they had chased, ran into my house.
"But they chased no one. There were no gang members here who shot the child dead.
"That person just came around the corner and shot the child. They were under the impression it was a member of the Taylor gang, but those children don’t belong to gangs.
Preparations are being made for Emaan Solomons' funeral. Video: Tracey Adams/African News Agency (ANA)
"When the prayer hour was over, they came straight to my house and threw petrol bombs in it. His father was also Pagad.
"He was the one who said he wasn’t just going to leave it there. But that’s not right what he is doing, to (target) the wrong people’s houses (who are believed to be dealing in drugs).
"I am not dealing in drugs. I work very hard for everything in my house, my husband and I. So why must they set my house alight?
"That’s not right. He was the one who started it. He has to put a stop to it."
Netwerk24 reported that three members of the Junky Funky Kids and a member of the Taylor gang had handed themselves over in connection with Emaan's death. Police could not confirm this at the time of publishing.
It's claimed that members of the vigilante group Pagad set alight the house of the alleged leader of the Taylor gang across the road from Emaan's parents.