Secrecy surrounds Goldin, Bloom witnesses

Published May 29, 2006

Share

A veil of secrecy has been drawn around the status of two accused in the Brett Goldin and Richard Bloom murder case who have turned state witness.

Police and correctional services officials refused to comment on whether the pair had entered the State witness protection programme or whether they were still being held at Pollsmoor Prison.

Nurshad Davids, 18, and Jayde Wyngaard, 19, have entered into a plea bargain with the State and are expected to testify in the murder trial of four other men, including Clinton Davids. He is the younger brother of alleged Americans gang boss Igshaan "Sanie American" Davids.

The alleged gang boss is facing charges of intimidation after he allegedly threatened to kill several of his brother's co-accused if his sibling was convicted.

In terms of the plea bargain, Nurshad Davids and Wyngaard - who were convicted of robbery, kidnapping and possession of an unlicenced firearm and ammunition - will each serve 12 years in prison.

According to the Weekend Argus, Davids and Wyngaard admitted that they drove in their BMW to Camps Bay on Easter Saturday night with the intention of stealing a car. They said they were accompanied on their venture by accused Shavaan Marlie, 25, and Clinton Davids, 23.

They said that in Camps Bay they encountered Bloom and Goldin and robbed them in the street, finding car keys on one of the men. At gunpoint, they then forced the men into Bloom's VW Polo Playa and drove them up Tafelberg Road, near the Lower Cableway Station. The two men were forced into the boot of Bloom's car.

Nurshad Davids and Wyngaard then took their BMW and left the scene, driving to Crawford. They said they did not go to the murder scene.

Goldin and Bloom's naked bodies were found under trees along the Klipfontein off-ramp on the M5 on April 17, two days after leaving a dinner party in Camps Bay. They had each been shot once in the back of the head.

On Sunday Correctional Services' acting head of communications Mark Solomons referred all queries relating to Nurshad Davids and Wyngaard's protection to the police.

Several warders at Pollsmoor also refused to disclose whether the men were still in the prison.

Police spokesperson Billy Jones refused to confirm whether the pair had entered any protection programmes or if they have been moved from Pollsmoor to an undisclosed prison.

"This is an extremely sensitive case and we cannot give you any comment on this," he said.

The Western Cape police's witness protection capabilities have recently been questioned by the family of a couple who died while they were killed under police protection.

The family of Yusuf and Fahiema Enous are suing the justice and prosecution authorities for negligence and claimed more than R2,3-million in damages from the State.

The couple's bullet-riddled bodies were discovered in a "safe house" in Gouda on Boxing Day 2000 - a month after they had entered the programme.

Alleged Pagad member Mogamat Phadiel Orrie was convicted of the couple's murder and sentenced to life imprisonment this year. At the time of his death, Yusuf Enous had been expected to testify against Pagad members Faizel Waggie, Nazeem Davids, Orrie's brother Mohamad Haroon Orrie, and Mogamat Shahied Davids after their alleged involvement in a foiled November 3, 2000, bomb attack on a Bellville pub.

- The bail application for the other accused in the Goldin and Bloom murder is scheduled to be heard today. Initially 10 young men and one woman were arrested for the murders, but five were subsequently released.

Related Topics: