‘Gang war’ fears in Cape Town as six shot after failed Donkie Booysen hit
Six people were shot in gang violence in Cape Town as the fall out after the botched hit on alleged gang boss Jerome “Donkie” Booysen has triggered what many fear to be the start of a “gang war”.
Booysen was shot in a Spur in Soneike Mall in Kuilsriver on Wednesday‚ and sources told TimesLIVE that his attempted assassination was only the beginning of a renewed gang war after the gang he allegedly controlled linked up with the Americans gang.
Booysen was shot in his left arm but managed to retaliate and shoot his attacker in the head. The man died on the spot.
His attacker is believed to be a member of the Hard Livings gang which‚ since Thursday‚ has clashed with members of the Americans gang in the neighbourhoods of Lentegeur and Manenberg.
Police have confirmed that four people were shot on Thursday in separate “gang related” incidents‚ leaving at least one person dead.
Western Cape police spokesperson Captain FC van Wyk said that the victims were all interviewed by police but refused to cooperate. Van Wyk‚ said they “did not want any criminal investigation into the matter”.
“On Thursday at about 7.25am Lentegeur police received complaint of a shooting in Warterlilly Street‚ Lentegeur. Police interviewed a male who had sustained gunshot wounds to his legs and left hand. The motive was gang related. The victim refused to open a criminal case. No persons have been arrested. A complaint of attempted murder has been registered‚” said van Wyk.
“On Thursday at about 7.10pm Lentegeur police received a complaint of a shooting in Kreupelhout Street‚ Lentegeur. Upon arrival at the scene police found the body of a 22-year-old male that had sustained multiple gunshot wounds. The motive is gang related. No person has been arrested. Police are investigating a murder‚” he said.
“Last night [Thursday] at about 7.15pm Lentegeur police responded to a shooting incident in Eros Way‚ Woodlands. Upon the members arrival on the scene they were informed that four men aged between 18 and 24 were wounded in a shooting incident. The victims were taken to a nearby hospital for treatment‚” said van Wyk.
Manenberg community leader and Manenberg Safety Forum chairperson Roegschanda Pascoe said that there was automatic gunfire in areas of Manenberg last night after large groups of gang members from rival gangs attacked each other.
She said that it appeared as though an order had come from the number gangs inside the prisons for attacks to start.
“The police are operating now and there haven’t been incidents since this morning so we hope it stays like that‚ but we know it’s Friday night and the reality of this thing is we get ourselves intoxicated and then the action starts‚” said Pascoe on Friday.
“Even before Donkie’s shooting the shooting started around Manenberg‚ there was this feud in Manenberg around the fact that a lot of Hard Livings jumped camp and became Americans so there was a dispute around that.
“Then they had a fallout and then shooting transpired‚ an American was shot and then the Americans avenge it and shot a Hard Livings‚” said Pascoe.
She said that several gangs have now joined into coalitions against each other with others‚ indicating that they might soon join the fight.
“It’s three gangs against these two gangs and we know how it ends and what it results in. It’s not long until other gangs are part of this‚” she said.
She said that the gang violence was spreading from one neighbourhood to the other and that it was expected to escalate.
“The one thing I got from a contact that is a number gang‚ he said to me this gang fight won’t be easy to stop because the call for the gang fight came out of the prison. It was decided in prison that there was going to be gang violence on the Cape Flats because there were some things that needed to be sorted out and the guys outside don’t listen‚” she said.
This week the Cape Town regional court heard that Donkie's would-be assassin was present at a court appearance the previous week where his brother Colin Booysen appeared on charges of extortion and intimidation.
Bruce Hendricks‚ representing Colin in the Cape Town Regional Court on Thursday‚ placed the man’s court presence on record while objecting to the police confiscating bodyguards’ guns when his client appeared in court.
Edwin Grobler‚ representing co-accused Nafiz Modack and Ashley Fields‚ also raised Wednesday’s attack on Booysen when he accused police of interrupting the men's bodyguard duties by taking them to the police station for questioning and confiscating their firearms every time they appeared in court.
Colin Booysen‚ Modack‚ Fields‚ Jacques Cronje and Carl Lakay are accused of extorting money from a Cape Town nightclub. Their case was postponed for trial in the regional court‚ which starts on 12 November.