Cape Town – A Hanover Park Park gangster accused of killing a young mom in 2019, but who was granted bail, is back behind bars after he was busted with an illegal gun.
Ashraf Noordien, 22, was caught on Thursday night when alert Law Enforcement officers noticed that he was behaving suspiciously near a home shop.
Noordien was arrested and charged for the murder of Gouwa Karriem, who was gunned down in Donegal Court on 17 November, 2019 amid a gang war between the Derwent Kidz and the Ghetto Kidz.
The shooting happened shortly after noon in Donegal Court and, according to witnesses, Gouwa had run to save a group of children by taking them into a council flat when she was struck in the head.
Noordien appeared in the Athlone Magistrate's Court shortly afterwards where he was granted just R1 000 bail for being a first-time offender, causing an outcry in the community.
Law Enforcement spokesperson Wayne Dyason says he was nabbed on Thursday by officers of the Law Enforcement Advancement Plan (Leap) who were deployed on crime prevention duties.
“On Thursday shortly after 8pm, the Leap officers were patrolling the area around
Derwent Court when they noticed a suspicious male at a shop,” he says.
“He did not want to move out of the shop and appeared very nervous when he saw the officers. They kept watching him and decided to approach him and search him.”
Dyason says officers found a loaded revolver hidden in his pants and Noordien tried to resist arrest, but officers quickly called for back-up and retrieved the gun.
“He was taken to Philippi Police Station where he was charged for illegal possession of a firearm and ammunition. At the station, officers were informed that he is currently out on bail for a murder case regarding the shooting of a woman in Donegal Court.”
While his bail conditions are not clear, a police source told the Daily Voice that Noordien is a hitman for the Derwent Kidz gang and is considered dangerous.
Community Police Forum (CPF) chairperson Ebrahiem Abrahams says the courts continue to leave the community at the mercy of gunmen by releasing them.
“As a community, we are left in the hands of gangs as the courts grant murder suspects bail,” he says.
“How can it be that he is just allowed to walk in Hanover Park while he is charged with murder?
“The fact that he was arrested with a gun shows that the courts and officials do not take our communities seriously. We have protested at court and it doesn’t help.”
Daily Voice