EDITORIAL | Lifman’s killing raises more questions than answers

Businessman, property developer, poker player, golfer and philanthropist. That was the public persona of alleged underworld boss Mark Lifman who was assassinated in broad daylight on Sunday in the parking lot of the Garden Route Mall in George.

He was killed in what appeared to be a well orchestrated hit by two men in a VW Polo. The following day he was due to appear in the high court with his co-accused — alleged gang leader Jerome Booysen and security company owner Andre Naude — on trial for the 2017 murder of steroid dealer Brian Wainstein, who was shot while in bed at his home in Constantia, Cape Town. 

As shocking as the brazen weekend shooting was for bystanders, the collective efforts of police and the community resulted in the suspects' vehicle being tracked and their prompt arrest about 110km away near Uniondale.

The motive for the killing remains, for now, speculation. However, what the murder has done is refocus attention on the country's often veiled murky underworld with tentacles stretching into the police and local government — as evidenced by testimony heard so far in three separate “underworld” cases in Cape Town.

There are many unanswered questions. Will the latest killing create a power vacuum in the underworld that could ignite a fresh wave of violence? Were the shooters trained professionals? Why did Lifman not have his usual team of bodyguards at the shopping centre? Who bankrolled the hit?

Lifman was no stranger to controversy, having over several years been accused, and cleared, of various crimes. He was also implicated in using strong-arm tactics to provide security services to nightclubs in Cape Town. He repeatedly denied the allegations against him.

Four years ago, Lifman and Booysen were in the Cape Town magistrate's court in connection Wainstein's murder and presented themselves as philanthropists.

“I am a property owner and developer and own a hotel in Sea Point,” read Lifman's 10-page affidavit.

“I own approximately 70 properties in the Cape Town area. I am involved with charities and in the past have donated clothing to underprivileged residents in Gugulethu,”

Time will reveal the truth. We are encouraged by the swift arrests in this case. However, we will never know if there were secrets he took to the grave.