Details of how 28s gang members plotted and executed crimes are emerging in the Western Cape High Court where alleged gang boss George “Geweld (Violence)” Thomas is in the dock.
Thomas, who allegedly heads the 28s gang, considered the most violent of the prison numbers gangs, is facing 160 charges along with 18 others in a trial that has been marked by 12 murders since 2008, including of State witnesses and gang members.
The trial is considered so high-risk that both prosecutor Catherine Breytenbach and State witnesses are under witness protection and tailed by bodyguards in the courtroom.
Several witnesses have come forward and highlighted the inner workings of the 28s gang. The most recent witness, who may not be named as he is under witness protection, was detained at Goodwood Prison after his arrest – where Thomas was also detained. Some inmates there were members of the numbers gangs, he said.
He told the court Thomas was an inspector in the gang, which meant he had a very high rank. Thomas’s stronghold was Bishop Lavis, he said.
He went on to identify some of the accused in the dock, saying that, of the 19 accused including Thomas, 13 were 28s members, one was a 27s member and two others were apparently members of the 26s gang. He could not identify the others.
The witness told the court that, after he was denied bail, he had decided to join the 28s.
“I figured I’d be in jail for years,” the man said.
“If you’re a frans (not a gang member) you have to share with the next person, a number (members of numbers gangs). If I got two phone cards during a visit, I must give one away because I’m a frans. If I’m a 28, I can keep my own stuff.”
He said he had not been marked with “tjappies” (tattoos showing he was a gangster).
But he said he could “sabela” (speak the 28s language) and he was familiar with the gang’s hand signs – lifting the thumb, index and middle finger to indicate that he was a member.
The witness said Thomas and fellow gang members had called themselves “G Unit”, which stood for Geweld Unite No one Is Traitors.
He said that shortly after his arrest a police officer on night shift had brought them food and a bag containing clothing for Thomas. Inside the bag and between the clothes was a cellphone hidden inside a radio.
It was normal for inmates to successfully smuggle cellphones into prison, he said.
“You phone someone on the outside (for airtime) and they transfer it to your phone.”
The witness outlined some of his activities for the gang before his arrest. He said when Thomas’s group had no “perlemoen work” – not smuggling perlemoen – they would dabble in drug dealing.
The witness said one of Thomas’s close friends had told him that, if he had nothing to do, he could buy drugs from Ashraf “Arab” Ryklief, one of the 19 accused in the dock.
He would go to Ryklief’s home in Delft and pick up tik for which he paid R10 000.
“I’d go to Bishop Lavis and drop the tik off (with an accused who turned State witness and is in a witness protection programme) so it can be sold.”
After four or five days, the witness would return to Bishop Lavis and pick up R12 500 – income from the tik sales. He would keep R2 500 and buy tik with the remaining R10 000.
The witness testified that Thomas had also sold drugs from a house in Delft. At one point, he had fetched 14kg of cocaine from a diver in Gansbaai and delivered it to Thomas’s friend. In exchange, the witness was given R10 000.
The witness testified how he would pick up firearms and ammunition from some of the accused and how he would be present or later briefed on meetings between Thomas and other gangsters before and after hits.
After the murder of Marvin Esterhuizen, who was mistaken for his brother, 26s gangster Curtis Esterhuizen, in 2008, the witness said Jerome “Volbloed” Karlmeyer, one of the 19 accused, had bragged about killing Marvin.
“He said he’d shot the man’s face full of holes,” the witness said. The trial continues.
How the witness protection plan works
Hundreds of people are placed on the witness protection programme each year.
If a witness applies for this form of protection, he or she, as well as any relatives, will be placed into temporary witness protection. Permanent protection for a longer period is considered in terms of the seriousness of the threat.
Approval, however, could take up to two weeks.
Permanent witness protection includes:
*An induction programme so a witness knows what to expect.
* Being placed in a furnished self-catering safe house. The witness does not pay for this.
* Being moved to a location far from a witness’s home.
* Treatment by a clinical psychologist.
* If unemployed, an allowance for basic needs.
* If employed, a witness gets a replacement salary.
* Schooling arrangements for children of a witness.
* Other costs, including transport, clothing and medical.
Once a threat against a witness ceases, a witness goes through a phasing out period from the witness protection programme and is discharged. This could involve a new identity and possible relocation.
The witness protection programme has a strict set of rules. These include witnesses not being allowed to discuss where they were being kept, divulge information about the safe house and the programme.
If a witness breaks any of the rules or abuses the programme, he or she may be removed from it.
* Information obtained from the website www.capegateway.gov.za and National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) spokesman Eric Ntabazalila and the NPA booklet Understanding the Criminal Justice System.
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