28s gang boss guilty of 53 charges

Capetown-150514-George Geweld Thomas and other accusesed appeared in Western Cape High court where they facing string of criminal charges-Picture by BHEKI RADEBE

Capetown-150514-George Geweld Thomas and other accusesed appeared in Western Cape High court where they facing string of criminal charges-Picture by BHEKI RADEBE

Published May 15, 2015

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Cape Town - After half a decade of court appearances and State witnesses being killed, judgment against 28s gang boss George “Geweld” Thomas was handed down at the Western Cape High Court on Thursday.

Murder, theft, criminal gang charges and racketeering are among the 53 charges on which Thomas was found guilty.

He is leader of the Bishop Lavis faction of the 28s gang.

The trial was considered so high-risk that prosecutors and State witnesses had bodyguards when testifying. Upon entering the public gallery, people had to have their fingerprints scanned.

 After more than a week of delivering her more than 800-page verdict, Judge Chantal Fortuin concluded her judgment against Thomas and his 18 co-accused.

Two of the co-accused were acquitted in 2013 and were later found dead. They had both been indicted for murder.

The trial, which has dragged on for five years, resulted in Thomas being found guilty of seven murders, two of which saw two State witnesses killed while Thomas was behind bars.

Some of the other offences against Thomas include three attempted murder charges, 10 incitement of others to commit offences, 11 charges of unlawful possession of firearms and two racketeering charges.

His co-accused were all found guilty on charges including murder, illegal possession of ammunition and extortion.

Fortuin convicted Thomas of instructing others to commit crimes.

“It is not important to this court which ranking the accused (Thomas) held (in the gang). What is important is that in light of his rank he did give instruction to others to commit offences,” Fortuin said.

Thomas had a smile on his face throughout proceedings. Those with him in the dock remained emotionless as Fortuin convicted them of multiple charges.

The National Prosecuting Authority has welcomed the conviction, and spokesman Eric Ntabazalila said the prosecution’s case was the biggest presented at the Western Cape High Court and was complicated by a number of incidents.

The State called more that 70 witnesses.

The trial was further complicated by a number of incidents including 19 murders and 27 attempted murders, Ntabazalila said.

“This case was not only complicated by the number of incidents and the number of accused, but a racketeering prosecution is normally based on financial gain as the main objective of the enterprise/gang, such as drug dealing or housebreakings, while in this case it in essence was more about a passion for power and violence, than financial gain. There was thus no paper trail to assist the investigations.”

Community Safety MEC Dan Plato said the judgment was a victory and a “step in the right direction”.

“There is a long road ahead but by working better together towards safety, as society as a whole, we are able to rid our streets of those who choose to act in defiance of the law.”

He added that the judgment should be used as a model case of how to ensure that similar convictions follow.

 

Sentencing proceedings in Thomas’s case will begin in the Western Cape High Court on Tuesday.

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Cape Argus and Cape Times

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