Gangster-turned-pastor speaks out again

Cape Town. 201114. Gangster-turned-pastor Ivan Waldeck recalls how in May last year he and his wife were shot while leaving his Bellville South church. He is speaking publicly against gang violence in a rare interview since the shooting. Picture Leon Lestrade. Story Caryn Dolley.

Cape Town. 201114. Gangster-turned-pastor Ivan Waldeck recalls how in May last year he and his wife were shot while leaving his Bellville South church. He is speaking publicly against gang violence in a rare interview since the shooting. Picture Leon Lestrade. Story Caryn Dolley.

Published Nov 22, 2014

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Cape Town -

For about 18 months gangster-turned-pastor Ivan Waldeck has mostly refrained from speaking out publicly against gangsterism.

This is because on May 12 last year Waldeck and his wife Natasha were shot as they were leaving a Bellville South building which they use as a church and rehabilitation centre for ex-gangsters.

Two gunmen walked up to their vehicle and shot directly and repeatedly at them. Waldeck was wounded eight times and Natasha was wounded in her face.

No one has been arrested for the shooting, and the motive for it has never been made clear.

Waldeck and his wife stayed at an undisclosed location for months afterwards for their safety.

Before the incident, Waldeck had frequently spoken out about gang shootings and was widely quoted in the media.

After he and his wife were shot, he stopped this practice.

But this week he said despite the gunmen who wounded him and Natasha never being arrested, he could no longer refrain from speaking out on the issue because of the escalation in gang shootings around the province.

“Seventeen bullets rained down on me.

“As a victim, I cannot be silent anymore.

“I refuse to be silent because there are potential Senzo Meyiwas, dying daily in our province,” he said, referring to the Bafana Bafana captain who was shot dead last month.

Waldeck said he did not understand why politicians were not being more vocal about the frequent gang shootings.

He said about 60 people had reportedly died as a result of gang violence in about two months.

“It is devastating.”

He questioned whether they would perhaps take more of an interest in gang hot spots closer to the 2016 elections.

He also questioned whether politicians would perhaps take more of an interest in trying to clamp down on gangsterism if shootings took place in the City Bowl instead of in poorer areas.

Previously Waldeck had worked closely with another gangster-turned-pastor, Albern Martins, who was murdered in Bishop Lavis three weeks before the Waldecks were shot.

Martins was killed on his way to court to appear on charges of racketeering, drug dealing, perlemoen possession and fraud.

Two men were charged in connection with the murder.

Waldeck and Martin had headed the Western Cape Community Outreach organisation, which includes the gangster rehabilitation centre which Waldeck still runs.

Former Hard Livings gang leader Rashied Staggie, who is out on day parole, now works there.

This week Waldeck said he and those working at the centre feared for their safety, but would not let this prevent them from doing their jobs. He had forgiven his shooters.

As he had done before being wounded last year, he still visited areas, including Lavender Hill, Manenberg and Hanover Park, to find out how residents were coping with the ongoing gang shootings.

Waldeck believed gang violence was an entrenched problem that needed more than police action to be tackled.

“We need things like skills training, sports and recreational activities, and religious leaders to step in… The police are doing their best. But more needs to be done.”

He explained that, as a former gangster, he recalled having lived in cramped conditions where gangsterism was the norm.

“We are still growing up in territorial concentration camps, and gang violence just becomes worse and acceptable,” he said, referring to blocks of flats in various gang-ridden areas where violence was rife.

Waldeck said as a shooting victim, he understood the impact a single bullet could have.

Police spokesman Frederick van Wyk said the shooting case was still under investigation.

There were no new developments.

- Saturday Argus

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