Rashied Staggie was shot dead in an apparent ambush outside his Salt River home. (Supplied)
The son of murdered gang boss Rashied Staggie was possibly gunned down by the prominent Hard Livings gang which Staggie governed before his assassination in 2019.
Abdullah (Dulla) Boonzaaier, 32, was shot and killed on Saturday night in the Box in Manenberg – the turf of the Hard Livings gang – while gambling. This is the same area where Mail & Guardian interviewed a young child soldier less than a week ago.
“The prominent male gang member, from Woodstock … was with a group of males gambling in the road way, when multiple gunshots were fired at him, sending the group of males scattering,” said Captain Ian Bennett from the Manenberg police station.
Residents said they heard about 10 gunshots. It is understood that Boonzaaier was shot in the face multiple times.
Boonzaaier died on the scene while a woman was kneeling beside him in prayer, a resident told the M&G on Tuesday.
On Monday, Bennett confirmed to the M&G that no arrests for the murder have been made.
However, the shooter, who is an alleged Hard Livings hitman, is known to everyone.
As is the norm after a gang member is shot, a retaliation attack is expected.
“Of course,” says a teenage boy in the Box, confirming that the community is expecting retaliation, and that the Hard Livings are “ready,” should it happen.
Boonzaaier was not affiliated to a specific gang grouping at the time of his death. He led a group in Woodstock at a place known as Die Plasie. The group was made up of former Hard Livings and Fancy Boys members who took sides with Boonzaaier. It is understood that he belonged to the prison gang 26s.
A rift between Boonzaaier and his father, Staggie, led to the former seceding from the Hard Livings a few years ago. According to multiple sources, he then established the Terrible HLs before leading the Fancy Boys gang.
While an attack to avenge his death is expected, some residents don’t believe it will happen before Boonzaaier’s janazah takes place on Tuesday afternoon, when many people are expected to bid farewell to the alleged gang member.
Meanwhile, three alleged gang members from the Americans and Jesters were shot in Manenberg on Tuesday afternoon.
Tensions have flared in Manenberg after the leader of the Jesters, known as Casba, was shot and killed. Shortly before his death, two Americans were injured and taken to hospital.
It is understood that the Americans shot an alleged member affiliated to the Jesters on Sunday night, sparking the tension.
The incident is not connected with the death of Boonzaaier.
Cape Town and surrounding areas have been plagued by murders, armed kidnappings and taxi violence in the past weeks and numerous civil society groups have voiced their concern, the M&G reported last week.
During a visit to Cape Town last week, Police Minister Bheki Cele revealed that areas in and around Cape Town and the Cape Flats recorded 83 murders over seven days from 5 to 11 September.
Cele said the main reasons for the killings include arguments, robberies and gang violence.