Cape Town - Two members of the notorious Gupta gang in Khayelitsha have been slapped with 14 life sentences by the Western Cape High Court more than four years after a mass murder at a local shebeen.
Gcinithemba Beja and Fundile Maseti returned to court this week as Judge Daniel Thulare found that the duo were behind the shooting on March 8, 2020.
They went on trial last year where they faced seven counts of murder, three counts of attempted murder and firearm-related charges.
According to the judgment, they pleaded not guilty and state witnesses who had been entered into witness protection were brought to testify.
The court records show the night before the murders the tavern owner, Ntandazo Mthera, was hosting a birthday party with relatives when four armed men arrived and opened fire, killing him and six others.
The next day detectives visited Tygerberg Hospital to speak to the surviving victims but noticed a patient trying to hide his face with a blanket. Cops discovered it was Beja who had been mentioned as a person of interest, and had allegedly been shot by one of the victims.
He claimed he was shot in an attempted robbery, but after an investigation cops arrested him along with his co-accused.
During the trial a state witness close to Mthera revealed he was a 28s gang member and along with Beja and others, they were also former members of the Boko Haram gang. They later formed a splinter group known as the Guptas.
He further told the court that on the night of the murders he saw Mthera running home in possession of a firearm and bleeding and as he assisted him, gunshots rang out. This is when the witness says he saw Beja who claimed he had been shot by Mthera.
The witness claimed that after reporting the shooters at the cop shop, he was sought out by members of the Gupta gang, who questioned what he was doing at the police station. He lied and said he went to certify documents.
The judgment outlined that the gang had become notorious for their extortion of businesses run by Somali nationals who were forced to pay protection fees to operate in the township.
Police spokesperson, Warrant Officer Joseph Swartbooi, said the case was investigated by Warrant Officer Zinele Ngqola, who faced “a gruelling onslaught” from the defence lawyer.
“He stood his ground and was praised as a credible witness.”
During sentencing, Judge Thulare compared the crime scene to the “Wild Wild West”. He said extortion has become fashionable and accused cops in Khayelitsha of becoming accomplices in the criminal enterprise, but said the conviction and sentence in this matter “brings hope”.