The armed group randomly gunned down 10 people, and two shopkeepers were subsequently murdered.
The four accused linked to mass killings in Khayelitsha in Cape Town went on a shooting rampage in what appears to have been a retaliation attack after one of their members was executed by a rival group, according to the state.
The alleged kingpin of the group, Yanga ”Bara” Nyalara, and co-accused Lundi Zweni, Wandile Tofile and Manelisi Ngumla, appeared in the Cape Town magistrate’s court on Tuesday.
After being granted a postponement two weeks ago, the state handed down the indictment against the four accused.
Nyalara, also known as “Bara”, allegedly leads a gang that is involved in a range of criminal activities that includes extortion of informal businesses.
Nyalara allegedly committed the mass killings while he was out on bail after his arrest in March 2019 for a cash-in transit heist in the Eastern Cape in 2018.
A recent TimesLive investigation reported how Nyalara and another Western Cape criminal, Ayanda “Stix” Yisaka, were awaiting trial when they were released on bail. They were rearrested in June and July respectively.
Accused four, Zweni, has also been arrested on multiple occasions for various crimes.
In February, Zweni dodged charges of attempted murder and murder when the case was struck off the court roll in the Khayelitsha magistrate’s court because the investigation was not completed in time.
Zweni was rearrested in July in connection with the murder of eight people in Gugulethu in May 2021. The matter is continuing in the Athlone magistrate’s court, where Zweni is appearing alongside his co-accused, Thabo Dyasi and Sivuyile Matoti.
The indictment against Nyalara and his co-accused — said to be working in common purpose by the state -— alleges that the group “commits violent criminal acts aimed at inspiring fear in the owners of informal businesses, in order to induce them to pay over money to the criminal gang”.
Further to this, the criminal group violently eliminates competing criminal groups who are also involved in extortion.
The state alleges that the four accused committed the crimes between 15 May 2021 and 30 June 2022, which “were aimed at causing, bringing about, promoting or contributing towards a pattern of criminal gang activity”.
Magistrate Ronel Oliver said the four accused face 32 charges including 18 counts of murder, seven counts of attempted murder, six charges for contravening the Firearms Control Act and contravening the Prevention of Organised Crime Act (POCA).
On 15 May last year, 12 people were shot dead in retaliation for the killing of Sikhumbule Nkonki, a known associate of Nyalara.
The state alleges that Nkonki was collecting extortion money in Site B in Khayelitsha when he was murdered by a rival group that is also part of an extortion racket.
Nkonki’s death led to three of the accused, including Nyalara, and at least 10 members to go on a shooting rampage in the area in which the leader of the rival gang lives.
As a result of Nkonki’s death, Nyalara and a group of 10 to 15 armed men — including co-accused Tofile and Ngumla — went on a shooting spree targeting residents and several informal businesses known to be extorted by the rival group.
The group was armed with semi-automatic and automatic firearms including a semi-automatic pistol.
The armed group randomly gunned down 10 people before arriving at the shop where Nkonki was killed. Two shopkeepers were subsequently murdered.
Nyalara and Ngumla are also charged with six counts of murder for a spree that took place on 8 May in Khayelitsha.
On Tuesday, Oliver transferred the matter to the Western Cape high court where the pre-trial conference is set for 10 March next year.