Chaos erupted at the Western Cape High Court on Tuesday where an alleged gang leader and affiliate of Nafiz Modack attacked one of his henchmen in the dock.
The drama unfolded shortly before new evidence regarding the attempted hit on attorney William Booth was introduced, as one of the accused was allegedly piemped alleged gang boss, Moegamat Toufiek “Bubbles” Brown.
During the trial, Brown was outed as the leader of the Terrible West Siders gang by another state witness and during proceedings yesterday, the state entered a plea statement submitted by Brown’s co-accused and alleged henchman, Riyaat Gesant, into evidence.
Gesant, who has already been sentenced for the attempted hit on Booth, was convicted alongside Ebrahim Deare and Brown’s wife, Kauthar.
The trio were charged with aiding and abetting the activities of a gang, conspiracy to commit murder and the attempted murder of the attorney.
Deare was also charged with the illegal possession of a firearm and ammunition.
The trio entered into a plea and sentencing agreement with the State at the Cape Town Regional Court.
Kauthar’s sentence was suspended for five years; she was also sentenced to three years correctional supervision for the attempted murder.
Deare was handed a 10-year sentence and Gesant a five-year sentence for the hit on Booth on 9 April 2020.
Deare was set to be the hitman, while Kauthar provided the getaway vehicle to the State witness who was instructed to drop Deare and Gesant close to Booth’s home in Higgovale.
During proceedings, Judge Robert Henney adjourned the court for the new state witness, who is testifying virtually, but within seconds of leaving the courtroom, Brown was seen punching Gesant in the face as tempers flared in the dock.
Another co-accused, Mario “Piele” Pietersen, tried to stop the fight while Modack and Zane Kilian jumped out of the way.
As cops descended on the dock to usher Gesant away, Bubbles hit Piele over the head shouting, ‘Sy ma se p***’.
Bubbles was also seen throwing his watch to his wife in the public gallery.
Henney addressed the accused and warned that if violent clashes continued, he would those who participated in the fights shackled for the duration of the trial.
Meanwhile, Bubbles’ lawyer Nazeer Parkar told the court that his client had apologised.
The driver who allegedly drove the hitmen to Booth’s home has since taken the stand where he explained how he made the trips to Higgovale.
The witness identified as “Mr D” told the court about the first botched attempt on Booth, saying Deare was dik gerook on Mandrax. Initially the driver thought the group was breaking into homes but says he overheard a conversation with Bubbles whom he called “The Big Fish”.
He claims Bubbles enquired, “Het julle gedala?”
But Gesant replied, saying they had not yet “made the nommer vol”.
‘That is when I realised they were going to shoot someone.’
The witness said he watched Gesant and Deare hide behind an electrical box and ran towards Booth who was wearing a blue gown and fired shots at him.
The trial continues.
Mahira Duval
www.dailyvoice.co.za
