WILD WESTERN: The rise of Westbury’s gangs

Gangsters and boxers of Westbury | Read the exclusive full series here

A series of stories on champion boxer Cameron Adams, the Stuurman brothers and others who lived through gang violence in the Johannesburg suburb

28 November 2024 - 16:45
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Friends Vincent Stuurman, left, and Cameron Adams were hanged for murder 40 years ago, but their deaths did little to stem the wave of violence in Westbury.
GALLOWS' END Friends Vincent Stuurman, left, and Cameron Adams were hanged for murder 40 years ago, but their deaths did little to stem the wave of violence in Westbury.
Image: Graphic by Nolo Moima

In 1973 Westbury boxers Cameron Adams and Desmond Stuurman competed at the South African Games in Pretoria, the first mixed-race amateur tournament during apartheid.

Nine years later Adams and Vincent Stuurman, a younger brother of Desmond, were sentenced to death.

David Isaacson tracked the journey from teenaged prospects to condemned men to find that one of them should most probably not have been sent to the gallows.

Read the excellently researched, full five-part series by clicking on these links:

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