'He called me a paedophile'‚ alleged mafioso tells police colonel

No one is exempt from harm in the war for Cape Town’s nightclubs‚ not even alleged gang boss Mark Lifman. 

But unlike many victims of the alleged extortion racket which has spread across their turf through fear and terror in the city over the past two years‚ Lifman spoke out. He opened a case against suspected extortioner Jacques Cronje claiming that he “injured‚ insulted‚ or impaired” Lifman’s dignity by calling him a paedophile.

This was according to Colonel Charl Kinnear‚ the investigating officer in the case against a group of five men accused of extorting the Grand Cafe in Seapoint. The officer testified in the Cape Town Magistrates court during the group’s bail hearing on Thursday.

The gang is alleged to be headed by Nafiz Modack and Colin Booysen‚ with Ashley Fields allegedly coordinating hits on the group’s opponents by using his contacts in Cape Flats gangs. The fifth suspect is Karl Lakay‚ an employee of the TSG‚ the security company under which the gang is suspected to be conducting their illegal activities. Cronje previously worked for murdered Mafioso Cyril Beeka and is alleged to be the Modack group’s “muscle” and henchman.

In 2009 Lifman was acquitted on seven charges of indecent assault against young boys.

Lakay’s defence advocate Rooshdeen Rudolph evoked the answer from Kinnear who is investigating Lifman's complaint.

Right after that he proceeded to call Booysen‚ and his brother Jerome “Donkie” Booysen‚ “gangsters” and called Colin and his younger brother Michael murderers.

This was an apparent attempt to slate Kinnear as a confidant in the Booysen gang empire based on the fact that his children were friends with Booysen’s sister Theresa's children as they attended the same school.

Kinnear admitted to having previously visited Theresa’s Bellville home to pick up his children.

Rudolph pointed out that the Kinnear was morally compromised because of his children’s relationship with Theresa’s children and asked whether Kinnear knew that the police had come across a large quantity of drugs at the house during a raid some time ago‚ to which Kinnear simply replied “Yes”.

The case continues on Friday when the cross examination is expected to be completed and the state prosecutor Esna Erasmus will make her final argument for why the accused should not be granted bail.