--- title: "LISTEN: How 750m in Cape Town’s city centre points to South Africa’s expansive extortion problem" type: "NewsArticle" publisher: "Daily Maverick" site: "https://www.dailymaverick.co.za" section: "Articles" canonical_url: "https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/article/2024-12-16-listen-how-750m-in-cape-towns-city-centre-points-to-south-africas-expansive-extortion-problem/" published: "2024-12-16T00:00:00" lang: "en-ZA" word_count: 385 --- # LISTEN: How 750m in Cape Town’s city centre points to South Africa’s expansive extortion problem Published 16 December 2024, 02:00 SAST ## Content ![Image](https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/DailyMaverickMasthead_BlackRed_VECTOR-2.svg) ![Image](https://i0.wp.com/www.dailymaverick.co.za/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/Article-Gif-1000x250-4.gif?fit=1000%2C250&ssl=1) [Media](https://player.simplecast.com/c9d9eb5d-f29e-4387-b705-33fc0e846d1d?dark=true&color=1F9894) ![Image](https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/DailyMaverickMasthead_BlackRed_VECTOR-2.svg) ![Image](https://i0.wp.com/www.dailymaverick.co.za/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/Article-Gif-600x250-2.gif?fit=600%2C250&ssl=1) [Media](https://player.simplecast.com/c9d9eb5d-f29e-4387-b705-33fc0e846d1d?dark=true&color=1F9894) ![Image](https://i0.wp.com/www.dailymaverick.co.za/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/Apple-Podcasts-1.png?fit=720%2C213&quality=80&ssl=1) ![Listen On Apple Podcasts](https://i0.wp.com/www.dailymaverick.co.za/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/Apple-Podcasts-2.png?fit=720%2C213&quality=80&ssl=1) ![Listen On Spotify](https://i0.wp.com/www.dailymaverick.co.za/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/Listen.png?fit=720%2C213&quality=80&ssl=1) ![Listen On Spotify](https://i0.wp.com/www.dailymaverick.co.za/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/Listen.png?fit=720%2C213&quality=80&ssl=1) ![Image](https://i0.wp.com/www.dailymaverick.co.za/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/Youtube-Music.png?fit=720%2C213&quality=80&ssl=1) ![Listen On Youtube Music](https://i0.wp.com/www.dailymaverick.co.za/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/Youtube-Music-1.png?fit=720%2C213&quality=80&ssl=1) Extortion is a massive problem in South Africa. It affects many industries, areas and individuals – and crimes in this arena can prove fatal, people have before been murdered. This podcast shows how a stretch of around 750m in Cape Town’s city centre has been the focus of extortion and related accusations for years, and points to how deeply entrenched and intricate South Africa’s “protection fee” problem really is. 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