Cape Town - Pagad says they were not behind the murder of “gang lawyer” Noorudien Hassan, but the group “supports” whoever killed him.
People Against Gangsterism and Drugs spokesperson Haroon Orrie says Hassan was “part of the (gang) problem” in the Cape and that the organisation “shows no remorse” for his death.
Hassan died in hospital on Monday night after he was shot outside his Crawford home.
The 45-year-old lawyer was in the passenger seat of a friend’s car when a gunman shot him through the window.
Hassan’s list of clients included alleged gun smuggler Irshaad Laher and alleged Mongrels boss Cecil “Ses” Brown, as well as alleged 28s gang boss Ralph Stanfield, against whom a string of charges including fraud, and possession of unlicensed firearms were recently dropped in the Khayelitsha priority crimes court.
“He was friends with the drug dealers and gangsters,” Orrie said.
“They would always be acquitted or the charges would be withdrawn and that shows his level of corruption, to get drug dealers and gangsters freed.”
Orrie believes Hassan’s “corruption extended to his associates, prosecutors and magistrates”.
“Given the type of people who attended his funeral, we want people to understand the type of character he was,” Orrie says.
“He (was) part of the problem of what we see today,” Orrie says referring to gang violence.
“He had a direct effect. He would go to any lengths to defend Ralph Stanfield but he would never do the same for a poor person who is innocent in prison.
“We show no remorse.”
In 2014, Hassan’s family home was pipe-bombed while his family were sleeping.
At the time Hassan was adamant Pagad was behind the attack.
But Orrie says: “Mr Hassan blamed us before, this doesn’t come as a shock, people have the right to say what they want.”
Asked if Pagad was involved in Hassan’s murder, Orrie said Pagad doesn’t have any “direct link”.
“If it’s people in the community, who really want a change, who did this, then we support them.”
Meanwhile, the Daily Voice spotted at least one member of the splinter group, the Pagad G-Force, at Hassan’s funeral on Tuesday.
In a statement, the G-Force said Hassan’s murder came as a shock.
“G-Force believes in defending itself only when under attack. For someone to say that a person’s death is long overdue, it’s a mockery to the Almighty,” they said.
“G-Force was in no way involved (in the murder) and send our deepest condolences to the family and friends of the deceased.”
Daily Voice