Cape Town - The State has provisionally withdrawn charges against a security boss accused of killing a father in the Bo-Kaap.
Businessman Cameron Aberdeen was arrested on February 5 following the murder of Moegamat Abrahams and the attempted murder of a woman.
According to the State, a security officer confronted a boy and the boy’s father slapped the officer, who then called his colleagues for back-up.
Aberdeen confronted the boy’s family, which resulted in the community becoming “riotous”.
Aberdeen and his colleagues then left the area.
“He (Aberdeen) returned after noticing that his cellphone was missing. The situation was destabilised when the accused returned with the police and a further altercation happened,” said prosecutor Ricardo Swarts.
“A group of residents later on the same day went to the CBD and vandalised the accused’s business.
“He returned to Bo-Kaap and the community fought with him by throwing stones and they (security guards) threw them back at the residents.”
Aberdeen, who owns Cerberus Tactical Security (CTS), was released on R5 000 bail after appearing in the Cape Town Magistrate’s Court.
During his appearance in court on Thursday, Swarts said that due to incomplete investigations, they had to withdraw the matter against Aberdeen.
He said they reserved the right to do so until the completion of the investigation.
Aberdeen’s legal representative, William Booth, said his client “acted in self-defence” and has since laid charges against the group.
“We believe he should not have been arrested but the State should have first investigated the incident to determine whether or not there was a case against my client.
“On the last occasion the case was on the roll, after a number of postponements, I had objected to the fact that the investigation was not completed. The magistrate agreed with my objection and it was postponed until (yesterday) for final investigation.
“The prosecutor knew if they asked for another postponement, the magistrate would not have entertained that,” Booth said.
The lawyer asked the State not to re-arrest his client but to rather summons him to court when the investigation was finalised.
Bo-Kaap neighbourhood watch chairperson Ebrahim Christian said it seemed the loss of life was not taken seriously.
“People in the community will be upset about this, it might be taken in another way. His presence in the area might provoke the residents.
“The fight might start all over again. Also, it wouldn’t make business sense for him to come into the area.
“There are people who are not interested in security any more because Bo-Kaap doesn’t have violent crimes.”
Christian said that the victim was shot at point-blank range.
“The fight had been boiling up for a while – the security guards have been smacking people around and physically removing car guards from the streets.
“They don’t have the mandate to speak to the car guards; they are not law enforcement.”