Mall survives by the ‘skin of its teeth’

Alex Mall survived the recent wave of rampant looting and destruction by the skin of its teeth, so says the mall’s founding co-owner, Mpho Motsumi.

Speaking in an interview with Alex News at the mall, which is the only surviving shopping centre in the township, Motsumi, along with his centre manager Lucky Mabiletsa, said the chaos at the Alex Mall started at 22:00 on the night of July 12 and lasted up until 04:00 the following morning.

“We were surrounded by what could be described as a pride of big cats hoping to pounce on us,”Motsumi said.

“Shots were constantly being fired at us from all directions of the mall complex throughout the tense night stand-off of six hours. We were surrounded by hordes of close to 2 000 people at the mall, waiting for a slight chance of a slip-off on our side so they can stream in and loot.

“We were consumed by the desire to protect the legacy of this mall at all costs, which is 100 years of celebration of the township’s existence and never thought of our own safety as we put our lives on the line.”

Mabiletsa added to the conversation Alex News was having with Motsumi and showed the editor some videos of the crowd in the dark that he said had arrived in taxis and trucks and on foot.

“Some of them were people that we might know as they kept on shouting our names in the dark [Mpho and Lucky] and asking whether we were prepared to die for the goods in these shops which are insured and can easily be replaced,” Mabiletsa said.

News of an impending raid of the Alex Mall started streaming in following the fall of the Pan Africa Shopping Centre and the Alex Plaza. “We immediately organised our security and deployed them at strategic points and positions within the mall and also organised a backup ‘army’ of individuals we cannot name to defend the mall,” Motsumi added.

“I was still in the township organising this ‘army’ and when I then attempted to enter the mall, my car was stoned as I swerved from side to side to avoid the barricades already mounted on the road and the burning tyres.

“I had to retreat, and Mabiletsa and the guys smuggled me in. I must add that this all happened when a team of seven members of the SANDF (six men and a woman) had already arrived on the scene and they did a tremendous job in securing the mall with their mere presence, as they were not allowed to shoot at all.”

Motsumi described Alex Mall as a beacon of hope in a sea of poverty in the township as the only shopping centre that survived mobs of marauding looters unscathed. “We owe it to the Almighty and the ancestors of the great people we have honoured and featured at this mall for their tireless community work.”

In this whole episode, the Alex Mall operated and traded normally, except on July 13 when it was totally shut down as a precautionary measure, as attempts were being made to normalise and stabilise the situation outside the mall gates. It reopened the following day and has remained open.