Westbury community leader Bishop Dulton Adams on Thursday reflected how the death of a second notorious gang leader, Leroy “Finch” Brown, in the area may present an opportunity for the community to push gangsterism out of the community.
Speaking to TimesLIVE Premium Adams said: “It grounds us as political and community leaders to go to the grassroots level and begin to deal with young people who have been involved in these things. Because now the two main heads have fallen, it is now, I think, much easier for us to begin to speak with them and try to speak some hope into their lives and steer them in a different direction.”
He said the communities can begin to rebuild themselves.
The suspected Varados leader was gunned down while leaving a gym in Roodepoort on Tuesday, while back in February, Fast Guns leader Keenan Ebrahim was shot dead while driving in Constantia Kloof.
Adams, who also sits on the Gauteng legislature, said they had “told residents to stay indoors” as uncertainty brews.
But it is not just Westbury that is on edge. Several communities in Johannesburg are engulfed in the fear that a retaliation battle between rival gangs might erupt.
A source from Westbury said there had been mixed feelings around the community, with some people believing the death of Finch “was good riddance”, while others were sad and some members wondering what could happen next.
“Fortunately he wasn’t shot in the area. We can only imagine what the feedback could have been or the retaliation of the gang that Finch belongs to,” said one Westbury resident.
“There is fear in our area because we don’t know what to expect, and there have been threats going around that, depending on where you live, you are also seen as against them,” said the community leader.
He said people didn’t know what the Varados gang was planning and what could transpire, but the community had mixed emotions.
“Some are happy, some are sad and others don’t know where they stand,” he said.
He added that immediately when reports started circulating that he was killed, people that belong to the gang that he was part of allegedly started circulating messages saying “they were coming”, saying it would not matter whether one was from the Fast Guns a rival gang — or whether one was just a normal resident in Westbury.
I have spoken to the police and JMPD to be more visible in these areas for the next two weeks and after the funeral. There will be more visibility of police in our areas
— Bishop Dulton Adams
“People who belong in his gang have been sharing messages around in the community,” he said.
Brown was shot multiple times near a shopping centre on 14th Avenue, Roodepoort.
Gauteng police spokesperson Col Dimakatso Nevhuhulwi confirmed they were investigating a murder case after the fatal shooting of a man.
“The victim was leaving the gym when accosted by two unknown coloured men. They fired several shots at the victim and he was declared dead on the scene. The motive of the shooting is unknown at this stage and no suspects have been arrested yet,” said Nevhuhulwi.
Another community leader in Eldorado Park said they feared there would be a fight between Varados and Fast Guns.
“There might be a territorial fight between the rival gangs. Remember, Finch had his own people also in Eldorado Park. It is not going to be easy to just take over from these guys, probably gun violence will start now — but there are people who are also happy that he passed on,” she said.
Residents had no choice but to wait and see what unfolds, she added.
“They [Varados] are not going to be such a strong team. It can be that the Fast Guns will be taking over from these two areas, Westbury and Eldorado Park. But we hope not, we hope not because a lot of people will die.”
Meanwhile, Adams said he had spoken to the police in Westbury, Claremont, Riverlea and Eldorado Park to ramp up police presence in these areas, highlighting how Ebrahim’s death in February had plunged the area into violence as gun-toting youths ran amok.
“I have spoken to the police and JMPD to be more visible in these areas for the next two weeks and after the funeral. There will be more visibility of police in our areas,” he said.
Westbury has endured decades of gangsterism, with only brief periods of truce signed between warring factions involved in drug dealing, protection rackets, the stolen vehicle “chop shop” trade and control over minibus taxi routes, according to a Global Initiative Against Transnational Organised Crime report. "Finch" and "Keenan" became known in 2014.
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