Dying a way of life in world of Hard Livings gangsters

26 May 2013 - 02:22 By SHANAAZ EGGINGTON
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Rival gangs are all out to make their mark on the violence-riddled Cape Flats. The gun is a toy, but the killings are real
Rival gangs are all out to make their mark on the violence-riddled Cape Flats. The gun is a toy, but the killings are real
Image: ESA ALEXANDER

It was just after 8am and pupils were still streaming into the grounds of a high school in Athlone on the Cape Flats. Among them were two young men with hoodies pulled low over their faces. They rushed up behind Glenrico Martin and pumped two bullets into his head.

Then they fled the scene, oblivious to the horror on the faces of the pupils of Spes Bona High School who had just witnessed a cold-blooded gang execution.

Martin, 19, who was in matric, later died in hospital.

On Tuesday, six days after Martin's brutal murder, the leader of the feared Hard Livings gang appeared before the parole board of the Breede River Correctional Centre in Worcester.

Rashied Staggie - whose brother, Rashaad, died at the hands of the vigilante group People Against Gangsterism and Drugs (Pagad) in 1996 - has been in prison for the past 10 years for two crimes.

His first conviction was a 15-year sentence handed down by the high court for ordering the gang rape of a 17-year-old police informant in 2003. A year later, he was given a 13-year sentence in the Bellville Regional Court for burglary at the Faure police armoury. The magistrate ruled that the two sentences had to run concurrently.

The parole board granted Staggie day parole from September 24. This means that he will be free during the day but must report back to prison at night until March 25 next year, when full parole will kick in.

Western Cape Correctional Services spokesman Simphiwe Xako said Staggie was granted parole because he had completed all the rehabilitation courses and demonstrated good behaviour.

But Major-General Jeremy Veary, head of the Western Cape's anti-gang strategy, said that an internal power struggle between Hard Livings gangsters was a chief contributor to the current wave of violence on the Cape Flats.

"It's definitely not the only conflict, but it is a huge one," he said.

The Sunday Times has learnt that Martin was a confirmed member of the Hard Livings gang. He was convicted of possessing an illegal firearm and received a two-year suspended sentence.

In 2012, he stood trial on a charge of attempted murder after a man was shot in Manenberg in May 2011. He was acquitted.

He lived in Manenberg, the home town of Staggie and the base of the Hard Livings gang.

A resident of Manenberg, who asked to remain anonymous, said Martin was recruited by Randall Bosch, a senior gang leader who was convicted with Staggie on the rape charge, but released pending his appeal. Bosch was killed in Manenberg in March 2010.

"Martin used to be a member of the Stuppa Boys, a juvenile splinter group of the Hard Livings gang, and he lived near Bosch," the resident said.

"Some time ago, the youngsters were told that the 'general' was coming home and wanted to find his house in order. They were told that they must join the original gang or face the consequences."

In February the Sunday Times reported on Worcester's escalating gang and drugs problems. Furious residents alleged that Staggie was recruiting youngsters to his gang.

More than 20 people have died this month in gang-related violence. On Wednesday night, another young boy bearing the insignia of the Hard Livings gang was shot and killed in Rocklands, Mitchells Plain. Reliable sources said that 16-year-old Jaydee Magerman, who was shot in the back, had the insignia on his leg.

On Thursday, another senior gang member, Donovan Uys, 50, and his girlfriend, Sandra Simpson, 34, were shot dead as they sat in a car in Manenberg.

Two men arrested in connection with Martin's murder, Wilston Stoffels, 18, and Jevon Snyman, 19, will appear in court tomorrow.

Vearey slammed calls for specialised police units. "Gangs and drugs became the huge problem they are today at a time when we had these units. They were not effective. Our approach is to work systematically against the enemy with a very focused target and with very specialised resources."

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