British ‘suspected drug dealer’, 46, is shot dead outside South African primary school seconds after dropping his son off there

• Briton Simon Mather, 46, was fatally shot as he was dropping off his stepson
• Mr Mather was shot twice in the head while carrying out the school run  
• He is believed to have become involved in drug trade after moving to Cape Town

A suspected drug dealer was shot twice in the head in front of terrified children outside a primary school in South Africa. 

Briton Simon Mather, 46, was fatally shot as he was dropping off his stepson Quaid, 12. during a school run at Hout Bay, outside of Cape Town in South Africa on Thursday morning. 

The incident at Sentinel Primary School on Atlantic Skipper Road in Hangberg is believed to be a professional hit. 

The incident at Sentinel Primary School on Atlantic Skipper Road in Hangberg (pictured) is believed to be a professional hit

The father-of-three was suspected of being involved in the city’s cocaine trade but had upset gang rivals, according to a report in The Sun. 

According to the publication, Mr Mather had tried to muscle in on a lucrative market smuggling abalone marine snails, a £420-a-plate delicacy.  

A source told the publication: ‘He crossed the wrong group and they took him out. 

‘Life is cheap in South Africa, especially if you fall out with the wrong people.’ 

His son Bruno, 18, said that his father had had money problems. ‘He had got into a lot of debt. I’m sure his murder has something to do with his money problems.’

Mr Mather is from the village of Combs in the Peak District and used to work there for a kitchen worktops supplier.

He moved to Cape Town eight years ago which is when he is thought to have become involved with drugs. 

He married South African Sianlee Barendse, with whom he shared two young children. 

Mather was reportedly an associate of British businessman John Burns, 50, who was seriously injured by a car bomb in 2019.  

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