Three members of the Junky Funky Kidz gang have been sentenced in the Western Cape High Court.
Gang members Shakoor Gaffoor, 25, Riedewan Cedras, 27, and Grandall Solomons, 40, were convicted in June 2024, for the murder of Achmat Gaffoor, nephew of Shakoor Gaffoor, and a member of the Flakka gang, for three counts of illegal possession of firearms and a count of the illegal possession of ammunition.
The trio initially faced nine charges, including charges relating to the Prevention of Organised Crime Act (Poca), and three counts of attempted murder.
On Tuesday, October 8, 2020, Achmat and his friend were on the corners of St Blaise and St Barnard Streets in Steenberg, asking people walking by for money to buy dagga.
Achmat and his friend were members of the Flakka gang on the Cape Flats.
At the time, they saw a grey hatchback with a driver and three passengers in the back seat. About 30 minutes later, the vehicle returned with a passenger seated in the front seat.
The friend testified that he felt uneasy when he saw the vehicle for the second time, and it stopped in front of them.
The court further heard that the armed passengers in the vehicle, Gaffoor, Cedras, and Solomons, alighted, and he heard “hier is julle pappas” and he and Achmat started running in different directions.
The trio started shooting at them.
In his testimony in court, the friend stated he managed to run away, but later returned to find Achmat had been shot dead.
State advocate Luzaan Williams, who led evidence in chief, asked whether the men were involved in a gang, and the friend confirmed that the trio are members of the JFKs, a gang that operates in Hillview, Cafda, Seawinds, and Lavender Hill in Steenberg.
He also confirmed that he and his friends belonged to the Flakka gang, and the two gang groups are engaged in a territorial war. Any gang member who sets foot on rival gang territory would be shot dead.
Gaffoor claimed he was informed of the shooting by a friend, and he had spent the weekend at his parents’ home in Melkbosstrand and returned on Sunday.
Cedras stated he was in Grabouw with his mother at the time of the shooting and Solomons told the court he, his girlfriend, and his parents were together at the time of the incident.
The provincial spokesperson for the Hawks, Zinzi Hani said the matter was referred to the Serious Organised Crime Investigation's National Priority Violent Crimes (NPVC) for probing.
“On October 9, 2020, through a tracing operation by the Hawks' National Priority Violent Crime team, Western Cape together with National Intervention Unit (NIU), Shakoor Gaffoor and Riedewaan Cedras were arrested at their respective residential addresses and respectively Grandil Jacobus Solomons was arrested on October 12, 2020,” Hani said.
The trio pleaded not guilty to the charges against them.
Advocate Williams called several witnesses including the mother and aunt of Achmat (Gaffoor’s sisters), eyewitnesses, police officers, and medical personnel, and entered the CCTV footage as an exhibit for evidence.
Eyewitness testimony and video footage viewed by witnesses implicated the trio. The evidence revealed the JFK members acted in a premeditated manner and the Flakka gang was the designated target, with each one understanding their roles.
The evidence revealed each of the gang members was armed and shooting.
Gaffoor, who was out on bail for the duration of the trial w,as taken into custody after the conviction.
The trio was each sentenced to life imprisonment for murder, five years imprisonment for each count of possession of an unlicensed firearm, and five years imprisonment for possession of ammunition.
The court ordered the sentences to run concurrently with the murder charge.
The head of the Hawks in the Western Cape, Major General Mathipa Makgato welcomed the sentence and commended the investigating team for their work alongside the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA).
Makgato further cautioned gangs that no stone would be left unturned until peace and order were restored in the country.
IOL