Africa-Press – South-Africa. They may be called the Laughing Boys, but when these Hanover Park gangsters pull out a gun, there is no laughing, just panicked screaming and running away.
This was according to a witness testifying in the Pollsmoor Prison Circuit Court on Thursday, in the trial of six men and a woman who face charges of murder, illegal possession of firearms and robbery.
The court heard that in one brazen murder at a gadat, a Muslim prayer gathering, a former member of the gang found himself looking down the barrel of a silver gun.
Striding onto the property past people chatting, the gunman stepped into the main house, past the fortification of a security “cage” at the front door, and into the gathering of about 40 people.
He said ominously: “Dit sal altyd lag lag wees” (It will always be laugh laugh, an apparent reference to the name of the gang).
People at the prayers scattered in terror. They had gathered to commemorate a woman who had died a year before. But now, they were crawling under the tables laden with the refreshments, waiting to die.
A woman hiding under a table was shot in a leg because she did not pull it under the table fast enough.
The victim knew what was coming. He was also a Laughing Boy, and was seen to have turned his back on the gang.
He had gone into hiding in a suburb that was not identified to protect the people offering him refuge.
This terrifying account was relayed by a witness, who may not be identified because, as the witness explained, “If you are a witness, they will shoot you dead.”
None of the defence counsel, nor the prosecutors may be named either in the trial taking place in an iron cage made of floor-to-ceiling bars, with CCTV and a huge contingent of prison guards and police on guard.
Western Cape Judge President John Hlophe decided that the trial would be heard as a circuit court at the massive prison situated in Tokai.
One of the accused’s previous counsel Bashier Sibda had objected strongly, saying the environment infringed their right to be treated as innocent until a judge decides otherwise.
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The walk through the prison precinct to the circuit court, past architecture that made them seem already guilty or dangerous, did not honour that right, he had argued.
It left the impression they were already guilty.
After a site inspection by a judge and an application brought by one of the previous counsel before a full Bench, the Western Cape High Court agreed it should be held at the prison court.
The National Prosecuting Authority supported the use of the prison court as a way of alleviating a shortage of court space at the High Court, and getting on with the trial.
The only large court that could have accommodated them is already occupied with the trial of the alleged Terrible Josters, a gang from Delft, not far from Hanover Park.
The accused sat in benches behind another set of bars, with a television bolted to the wall in the reception area for the public to watch. The judge sat behind a separate set of bars, and all windows which could open, were also barred. Visitors have to hand in their cellphones, and photographs are strictly forbidden.
Drugs
During the trial, the court heard that the victim had been running with the Laughing Boys, dabbling in their activities of drugs, robberies, muggings, and gunfights.
These gunfights were said to draw spectators who stood at the left of a field, to watch the gunfighters shoot it out in the middle.
Spectators call the police to stop the shooting, but witnesses to help the police develop a case are rare.
The victim at the centre of Thursday’s testimony was drawn into the gang life through drugs and friendship, Before long, he had the tattoo “LBS” on his arm, which the witness understood to stand for the “Love Buttons Sex” motto of the Laughing Boys.
The court heard that the gang was plagued by infighting, and they settled disputes with a gun.
Everybody who lived in that particular enclave of Hanover Park were so familiar with the gangsters, that if they had a problem with them breaking into their house, they would walk to the leaders’ houses and report it to them.
But three months earlier, the man standing with his baby in his arms had decided he had had enough of the gang life. He could no longer watch “brother killing brother” as allegiances swirled unpredictably.
He grew weary of the shootouts between gangs with names like the Dollar Kids, the Mongrels, and the Ghettoes.
The day he found himself staring down the barrel of a gun was supposed to have just been a visit to pay respects, but it would be his last.
He was holding his 1-year-old baby in his arm, talking to people around him, as the baby’s head rested on his shoulder.
The witness said when the victim saw the gunman, he quickly swooped down and passed his child to a terrified person, cowering under the table, and stood up again.
“My bru, my laaitie (my brother, my son),” was all he could get out before bullets ripped through his crisp white outfit and into his body.
He crumpled but managed to get to a bed.
He sat up very straight on the bed, his breathing ragged.
People swirled around him, trying to keep him alert, pulling up his shirt to see where the entry wounds were, and frantically arranging a car to take him to an emergency room.
His last words were: “Mommy. Mommy.”
His eyes started drooping. Someone ran to fetch his baby and pushed the baby in front of him, imploring him to open his eyes to look at the child, as though this would give him the strength he needed.
He took his last breath.
Mikyle Davids, Tyrone Davids, Mikyle Abdullah, Shamieg Matheson, Moenzier January, Malieka Meyer and Moegamat Kamish all pleaded not guilty to 28 charges they face, either collectively or individually, ranging from illegal possession of firearms to links to six murders.
The trial was briefly interrupted when the accused complained that they had not had breakfast. Annoyed, the judge said the trial could not afford any more delays, and adjourned for a few minutes as the prison officials shook their heads to indicate this was not true.
More Correctional Services officials appeared through a side door to vehemently deny their claim.
One counted off on his fingers what they ate. “They had a protein, they had a ……,” he said going down the menu defensively, pulling his pinkie down as he reached the end of the breakfast tray’s offerings.
Someone was heard muttering that they were engaged in a “game” to delay proceedings.
Some apples appeared, and the alleged Laughing Boys and girl leaned back, watching the drama.
Court resumed, and during cross-examination, the court heard that Meyer allegedly walked around Hanover Park with a gun tucked into the back of her jeans, in the small of her back.
Gun
Through her lawyer, Meyer denied this strenuously, saying she had never touched a gun in her life.
“When you are on drugs, you are crazy, and you want everyone to see it [the gun],” the witness retorted.
The accused also deny being in a gang.
The witness said that they had cleaned up very well from their time on the street always high and sometimes not aware of what they were doing.
“If you saw them in that time [when they were out], you would clap your hands for them. They look so nice,” the witness said cynically.
Abdullah is serving four years’ direct imprisonment after he was sentenced for illegal possession of a firearm. Matheson is serving five years’ imprisonment for illegal possession of a firearm. Both sentences are for unrelated cases.
Due to load shedding and a generator that was not working, the trial was adjourned to Monday.
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