Margaret Jones (not her real name) shivers at the mention of George "Geweld" Thomas's name. She was one of the witnesses brave enough to testify against the notorious gangster, who was earlier this month convicted on 53 charges ranging from murder to racketeering in a campaign of terror across the Cape Flats that lasted for years. At least six state witnesses were murdered during the trial, while others had to be kept in a witness protection programme.Jones's bravery has cost her dearly - she has had to give up living in Cape Town and move, under protection, to another province.Her voice shakes when she recalls a threatening phone call from Thomas, made from prison a couple of years ago.Although the chilling phone call contributed to the gangster's downfall - police used the cellphone data to link him to killings that were committed at his behest - Jones and her family left Cape Town for good."I know the accused [Thomas], and I still don't feel safe to visit Cape Town," Jones said in a telephone interview this week."I actually received a threat from Geweld himself in 2010 while he was in prison. The threat was directed at someone I knew - it was that kind of thing, 'If I can't get you I will get your sister, et cetera.'"Jones said that she left Cape Town after spending three years in the National Prosecuting Authority's witness protection programme.She had since found another job and her children were adapting to their new environment.story_article_left1"I still can't explain to my children why we had to leave, why we can't visit our relatives any more and why I left my job. I didn't even resign, I just packed up and left," she said."I know a lot of people who I met in the witness protection programme who have not gone back to Cape Town and some of them have kids and they are not able to visit them."Hawks investigators, warrant officers Alfred Barker and Werner Bothma, cracked Geweld's syndicate after an eight-year investigation.Thomas - who holds the rank of an "inspector" in the notorious 28s prison gang - and 16 of his "foot soldiers" were convicted last Thursday.They faced a total of 166 charges including 19 of murder, 27 of attempted murder and various other counts including racketeering and unlawful possession of firearms.Judge Chantal Fortuin found Thomas guilty on 53 charges including seven counts of murder, two counts of racketeering and 10 counts of incitement to commit offences.Sentencing is under way. But the convictions are cold comfort for Mary-Ann Davids (not her name), whose son was killed by the gangsters. She has also had to relocate and hopes that the gangsters are sentenced to life imprisonment.Davids said: "They took my child's life. I lived in Bishop Lavis and I knew him [Thomas], so I am afraid."Several other witnesses, whose relatives were killed by the gang, were too scared to talk to the Sunday Times.According to the NPA, at least 12 witnesses were placed in its protection programme with their families.Thomas's lawyer, Janos Mihalik, said he intends appealing against the conviction. Mihalik slammed the state for using witnesses who had admitted to being involved in crime to bolster its case.He complained that Thomas was being held in a single cell in prison which, he said, was similar to the solitary confinement that was prevalent during apartheid days.On Thursday, Mihalik brought an application for Fortuin to recuse herself from the case, arguing that Thomas had not received a fair trial.sub_head_start A 'proud' career criminal sub_head_endGeweld, 49, cut his teeth as a criminal at an early age. His first brush with the law came after a housebreaking in Bishop Lavis on the Cape Flats in 1975, when he was nine years old.story_article_right2He received a suspended sentence but he was at it again four years later, and for this he got six lashes. In 1981, at the age of 15, he was convicted of theft. Since then, he was involved in a series of crimes.In 1984, then 19, he was convicted of two counts of housebreaking and received a six-month prison sentence for each;In 1985 he was convicted of helping a prisoner escape from custody and was sentenced to six months in prison; andIn 1986 he was sentenced to 10 years for murder and got a further six years in 1995 for choking another prisoner to death.Thomas controlled the gang territory in Bishop Lavis, receiving the "lion's share of the loot". The "foot soldiers" took instructions from him.Authorities have not been taking chances at his trial. A large contingent of police and prison warders kept a watchful eye on the gangsters while a team of bodyguards in black suits protected the prosecuting team.A convoy of police cars with flashing blue lights and wailing sirens carry Thomas to court in the mornings and back to prison at the end of proceedings, bringing the Cape Town CBD to a standstill as they drive through the city at high speed.Thomas is proud of his criminal career and has turned his body into a canvas to display his "achievements" - in the form of tattoos. He even has the nickname "Geweld" - Afrikaans for "violence" - etched on his Adam's apple. - Philani Nombembenombembep@sundaytimes.co.za..