A member of a notorious criminal gang known in Mamelodi as “Pharasae” was shot and killed in a hail of bullets on Saturday afternoon at Mams Mall in Mahube Valley, Far East of Mamelodi.
The shooting incident happened in broad daylight in front of taxi operators, street vendors, commuters, shoppers and motorists.
The gangster was declared dead on the scene by paramedics, this after being reportedly gunned down with more than 9 bullets by three men who were heavily armed with rifles and pistols.
The gangster, who can’t be named until verification of the incident by the police, was a feared character in the Far East of Mamelodi and was affectionately called “Little Kingpin of Extortion” by his admirers due to his extortion-related activities and threatening people.
It is widely believed that he had recently assumed the position of the leader of the Pharasae bandits since the leader is currently in hiding.
According to witnesses at the scene of crime, the extortion kingpin was at Mams Mall to pick up his friend and when he got out of his car a grey Suzuki car arrived at the scene suddenly, whereby three of its passengers got out of the car with guns while the driver remained behind in the said car.
They then shot at the kingpin brazenly before walking away nonchalantly.
Those that claim to have known the deceased kingpin told Tshwane Talks that he was responsible not only for acts of extortion but was actually the mastermind in the cash-in-transit heists and several more crimes in and around the township of Mamelodi and other areas in Pretoria and he was on a police wanted list for heist and other crime.
According to sources, the kingpin became leader of the Pharasae gang after the gang’s memmber was gunned down in August this yer in Mamelodi.
It is said that he personally recruited new members to join the Pharasae gang every now and then; that he handed out money, drive their expensive cars, alcohol and even rented expensive apartments for new gang members who couldn’t afford such luxuries as they came from poor backgrounds.
It is widely believed that one of the “first tests” before one could be admitted as a member of the gang was to kill someone as a way of proving one’s bravery and commitment to the gang.
“Many young men in Mamelodi were recruited in this manner and today many of them have died under painful circumstances,” said an anonymous source.
“And when the gang members attack their target, they aim for the head and no other part in the body; they shoot to kill,” said the source.
Referring to the deceased kingpin, the source added the following:
“This guy committed lots of crimes in Mamelodi including heists and extortion and he always got away with it,” he said.
The source said the kingpin collected via extortion money from shack dwellers in Extension 17 near Mahube Valley, from street vendors trading along the Solomon Mahlangu Drive, from local and foreign-owned spaza shops, hair salons, car wash joints as well as from taxi ranks.
He said the kingpin and his Pharasae gang members worked together with people who are in high places in the society, the government and the police and that was the reason they were unstoppable and had managed to succeed in their criminal activities until now.
He said crimes of extortion won’t come to an end soon in Mamelodi because each time one or two members die, more people are recruited to these gangs and many young people are compelled to join these gangs because of hunger and unemployment and the fear of poverty.
It is rumoured that the kingpin was also responsible for robberies at several petrol-filling stations in the township of Mamelodi and that he also sold land for homeless people who were squatting on vacant land in Mamelodi and never gave shares to his fellow gang members, which is something that is suspected to be the motive behind his killing.
“This guy liked showing off his ill-gotten wealth and he would often post videos on social media showing him having a good time and enjoying the proceeds of crime while other members of the gang were not given shares from the said proceeds,” said the source.
“His fellow gang members are demanding shares and there will be more bloodshed in the coming days or weeks because of the usual revenge killings,” he said.
“It is true that those who live by the gun die by the gun, and once the Pharasae gang has been wiped out, another gang called Bad Company will take over and terrorise the residents of Mamelodi,” he said.
“Our law-enforcement agencies will never end extortion in Mamelodi because they are also involved in extortion activities and are the ones who give these gangsters tip-offs regarding imminent arrests by the police,” lamented the source.
“I am appealing to the Minister of Police to stand up and fight extortion in Mamelodi by getting rid of bosses of three main criminal gangs, namely Boko Haram, Pharasae and Bad Company,” he said.
He expressed surprise that the police didn’t arrest the kingpin before he was killed as he was well-known by the community at large for acts of extortion, cash-in-transit heists and threatening people.
Tshwane Talks tried to get a comment from the South African Police Services.
Unfortunately, by the time of printing the police has not responded to our questions.