Moegamat 'Boeta' Cassiem has been selling ice cream at Newlands for 55 years.File photo: ANA/David Ritchie

Cape Town’s ice-cream man pleads for help with eye surgery

By devereaux Last updated Aug 27, 2020

CAPE TOWN, June 13 (ANA) – Moegamat “Boeta” Cassiem, Cape Town’s famous ice cream man, is pleading with anyone who might be able to assist with his eye surgery to lend a helping hand.

Cassiem, 66, lives in Mitchells Plain and has been in business for about 55 years. He sells ice cream and soft drinks during matches at Newlands Cricket Stadium. However, the coronavirus (Covid-19) pandemic has seen live sporting events put on hold, and Cassiem, like many other sales people, has been severely affected.

In a telephonic interview with the African News Agency (ANA), Cassiem said he relied solely on his old-age pension to survive. Under normal circumstances, he would be selling his products at the stadium over weekends, but with the lockdown he had to obey the rules and stay home, he said.

He struggled to see, as his one eye was semi-blind. Doctors had advised that he needed cataract removal surgery to improve his eyesight, he said.

Cataract surgery involves removing the eye’s clouded lens and replacing it with a clear artificial lens.

Cassiem said doctors had told him that it would cost him R10,000 to have the surgery done, excluding extra services. As a pensioner, Cassiem could not afford that kind of money. He hoped that post-Covid-19 he would be able to attend all the sporting events again. “I can’t stop now. It’s my hobby and how I make a living. I love the game,” he said.