Four alleged gangsters were killed in Mamelodi between Sunday last weekend and Wednesday this past week.
According to reports, these alleged gangsters were killed by members of a group of gangsters known as Pharasae.
The bone of contention in all the four murder incidents is believed to be related to “unauthorised” collection of cash and battle for territory.
The first murder victim was shot and killed with ten bullets at a tavern in the Far East of Mamelodi, this in front of his girlfriend and other patrons before fleeing the scene.
It is said that he was a member of the notorious Pharasae gang.
On the selfsame Sunday, the same members of the Pharasae gang are said to have stabbed their fellow gang member and subsequently dumped him at the local Mamelodi Regional Hospital.
They then started spreading false rumours that the stabbed gangster had been injured while trying to hijack a vehicle.
The stabbed gangster succumbed to his wounds at the hospital later in the week.
In another gangster- related murder incident, a man who was employed as a security guard was shot and killed while enjoying himself at a local liquor outlet called Monaco.
Rumour has it that he had for several months been accompanying Pharasae gangsters on their missions to collect “protection fee” from various business owners in Mamelodi east.
During the said missions the guy would wear his security guard uniform and carry his work-issued rifles to protect the Pharasae members and also to intimidate any business owner who might try to resist paying the said protection fee and also protecting the Pharasae gang members who collect money.
But since the Pharasae gangsters never paid him for his duties, he took an initiative to collect protection fee from all the businesses that paid protection fee to Pharasae gangsters without informing them.
Since November and December 2024, the man has been spending the money on himself and each time the Pharasae members wanted to collect cash from their victims, they were told that the security guy had collected it already.
The security chap was then given an ultimatum by Pharasae members to repay all the money he had collected from business owners and after failing to do so he was shot down at the said liquor outlet by the mountainside in Mamelodi East.
In yet another gang-inspired murder case, two men believed to be members of the Boko Haram bandits were shot and killed by Pharasae gangsters while sitting in a car in Mamelodi West.
According to a source close to the incident, the two Boko Haram gangsters had dared to collect money from people running a project of installing electricity in Ward 100 and also collecting money in Nellmapius informal settlement, which, according to the source, is a territory exclusively used by the Pharasae to collect “protection fee.”
According to the source, the two Boko Haram gangsters’ members were warned first by the Pharasae gang to stop collecting money in their territory, but the Boko Haram members took the warning lighlty and ignore it.
The two were shot and killed as this was the Pharasae territory.
“The Pharasae gangsters don’t want anyone except themselves to collect protection fee from owners of electricity-installation projects in the whole of Mamelodi east, including the Far East of the township,” said the source.
“The Pharasae gangsters believe that they are untouchable as they consult sangomas, prophets, traditional healers and churches for fortification and protection in the acts of crime they engage in, and also to evade death threats sent to them via letters by those who want to eliminate them,” he said.
“The killing of Boko Haram members last Wednesday will spark more killings because their fellow members will obviously want to avenge their deaths,” warned the source.
Tshwane Talks has been waiting in vain for comment from the police since last Wednesday regarding the aforesaid killings.