Hefty sentences for Geweld, henchmen

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Cape Town - The hefty penalties handed down to 17 members of the Cape’s most notorious numbers gangs – including the seven life sentences plus 175 years for alleged 28’s gang boss George “Geweld” Thomas – sent a clear message that the criminal justice system was “crushing the number”. This was according to authorities from the Justice Crime Prevention and Security cluster, who hailed the prosecution and conviction of Thomas and his 16 henchmen “a victory”. The four-year-long court process against the gang members culminated in the Western Cape High Court on Wednesday when Thomas was given a life sentence for each of the seven murders he was convicted of. These included the three for which he had personally pulled the trigger and four which he had orchestrated from an isolated prison cell. He faced 52 charges, including seven murders, three attempted murders, racketeering, the unlawful possession of firearms and ammunition, housebreaking with intent to rob and robbery with aggravating circumstances, and several gang related charges under the Prevention of Organised Crimes Act (Poca). The 175 years he received for the other charges will run concurrently with his life sentences. Six of his co-accused will also serve life sentences for their crimes – some of which were carried out under instruction from Thomas while he was in jail.

The rest of his co-accused were handed sentences ranging from between 12 and 25 years. The men all faced charges under the Prevention of Organised Crime Act for participating in an illegal gang operation.

Of the sentences handed down on Wednesday, Brigadier Andre Lincoln, head of Operation Combat, said: “It sends a clear message out – a message we are proud of – it’s that we are crushing the number.”

Advocate Hishaam Mohamed, the regional head of the Justice Department, said the sentences can be regarded as a “blow to the scourge of crime”, while the police’s Major-General Jeremy Vearey, the deputy provincial commissioner of detection services, said it was significant and very rare to have members from the numbers gang from all three branches – the 26’s, 27’s and 28’s – convicted at the same time.

Eric Ntabazalila, spokesman for the National Prosecuting Authority, welcomed “the heavy sentences”, saying it “has been four long years of hard work on one of the biggest and most complex gang cases in the province”.

Ntabazalila said the sentencing has set a precedent for prosecuting organised crime syndicates and gangs.

The trial started in 2010 involving crimes committed between 1999 and 2010. A total of 166 charges were brought against the men. Twelve people linked to the case, including six State witnesses, were murdered.

Seventy State witnesses were called.

There were initially 19 men in the dock alongside the heavily tattooed Thomas, but over time, one of the men was acquitted on the charges and another died. Advocates Willie Viljoen, deputy director of Public Prosecutions, Advocate Catherine Breytenbach and Advocate Christian De Jongh steered the case.

More than 33 000 phone calls made from cellphone numbers were linked to Thomas, from within the various prisons in which he was incarcerated.

Judge Chantal Fortuin dealt with each of the men individually, saving Thomas for last. She considered issues surrounding the men’s upbringing and socio-economic circumstances, saying most of them had grown up around gangs and drugs.

Judge Fortuin said she had considered concerns about witnesses who had testified and the interest of the community.

She said the effects of poverty and unemployment had not been overlooked by the court and that the court was sensitive to the socio-economic issues in communities.

“There’s never an excuse for anyone to kill another person,” she added.

She found the murders were committed in cold blood and that some victims were “brutally mowed down”.

The court heard that Thomas, 49, had been in custody for six years. At the time of his arrest he had been married and had fathered four children from other women before his marriage. He had 19 previous convictions which spanned over many years. He committed his first offence when he was 9.

Judge Fortuin remarked that the men showed no remorse.

Appeal processes are expected to begin next week.

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Cape Argus