Cape Town – It was important in the case of gang-related incidents occurring in gang-ravaged areas for police to get witness statements as soon as
possible, said Sergeant Jerome Kleinbooi.
This was part of his testimony
yesterday in the Western Cape
High Court during the murder trial of six alleged Terribles Gang
members from Uitsig, who are charged with the murder of 4-year-old Thea Lewis and three other people in April 2018.
Alleged gang members Brandon September and Nigel Prinsloo are charged with the murder of Thea, while Austin Peter Botha, Shaun Field, Joseph Williams and Rodney April face three counts of murder in respect of the other deaths.
They also face charges of
attempted murder and contravention of the Prevention of Organised Crime Act.
The six have pleaded not guilty to the charges.
Kleinbooi said: “In gang-related incidents, we find that alleged gangsters intimidate or threaten witnesses. It is therefore important to get witness statements in such instances as soon as possible.
“I can recall one case where a
witness fled to the Northern Cape,
and I had to travel to get his
statement.”
His testimony corresponds with the sequence of events that transpired in the four murders that were committed within two days of each other in Uitsig.
In papers, the State claims that on April 18, 2018, the day little Thea was killed, the Terribles and members of a rival gang were locked in violent clashes.
“A group of four men, Ricardo Williams, Adrian Adams, Abdul Oostendorp and Nataniel Petersen were smoking dagga and a mandrax pipe in the yard.
“September and Prinsloo approached the street and one of them took out a firearm and fired multiple shots at the people in the yard.
“(Thea) Lewis was hit by one bullet and died on the scene. Oostendorp and Williams made witness statements regarding the shooting.
“In the early hours of May 20, 2018, Oostendorp, Williams and a female were in a hokkie (a shed) in Ash Court, Uitsig.
“The other accused, Botha, Field, Joseph Williams and April, communicated with hand signals.
“Both Botha and Field had firearms when they entered the premises, shot the two state witnesses and a female in the hokkie until the guns were empty,” the State alleges.
Alleged corruption within the police ranks was also also brought to the attention of the court.
State prosecutor Denise Greyling informed the court that the original album containing the pictures of the suspects taken during an ID parade had disappeared.
Fortunately, the pictures were
saved on a computer and Kleinbooi was able to retrieve duplicate
copies.
The officer involved in the ID parade, and who was responsible for the safe-keeping of the album, is to be called to the stand to give his version of events.
The trial continues.