[imagesource: Kagiso Setsetse]

It is becoming apparent, especially in South Africa’s gangsterism capital, the Western Cape, that even seemingly isolated instances of crime and violence are tightly connected.

Over 10 months the police made at least 17 arrests that extended into the restaurant and construction sectors, as well as to other private businesses and even Cape Town’s municipality, all with one criminally-flexible couple at the centre.

That is alleged gang boss Ralph Stanfield and his wife Nicole Johnson (pictured up top) who crop up in various ways in the growing number of investigations into crimes ranging from murder to fraud, all of which are developing into a mega court case in Cape Town, the Daily Maverick explains.

The Firm gang boss accused Stanfield and his wife Johnson were arrested at their home in the upmarket Cape Town suburb of Constantia in 2023 on charges relating to car theft.

The naming and shaming of the accused in this massive criminal network gets quite confusing, so it is recommended to check out Daily Maverick‘s timeline of events, starting from the arrests of Stanfield and Johnson and spanning into the widespread police takedown with at least 17 suspects detained in Cape Town over a 10-month period.

Soon after Stanfield and Johnson were busted, three other accused – Denver Booysen, Johannes Abrahams and Jose Brandt – joined them in the dock. The State alleges they are all part of The Firm, a gang group with a strong 28s membership, and they therefore face charges under the Prevention of Organised Crime Act.

Just recently, the case grew to include eight others accused of crimes including high-profile shootings that have rattled Cape Town over several years. This big group of accused now faces more than 30 counts of crime.

Among the eight recently charged is Warren Dennis, who was charged in connection with the February 2023 murder of City of Cape Town official Wendy Kloppers. She was gunned down in Delft at the Symphony Way Housing Project building site, allegedly after the City refused to give in to gangsters who were demanding work from contractors at the housing project.

Speaking outside the Cape Town Magistrates’ Court where Stanfield and his co-accused appeared, the City’s human settlements mayoral committee member, Carl Pophaim said that the construction mafia and the murder of Kloppers… “and these broader investigations are part of one singular thing – an attempt to capture Human Settlements and construction in Cape Town.”

Human settlements MMC Carl Pophaim addressing the media on the court appearance on the accused who allegedly murdered city official Wendy Kloppers on February 16, 2023 in Delft. The accused is expected to appear alongside alleged 28s gang boss Ralph Stanfield.@TimesLIVE pic.twitter.com/qRlArGxsg3

— Kim Swartz (@KimTracySwartz) June 27, 2024

Also appearing in the dock for the first time alongside Stanfield, Johnson and co, were Jonathan Cloete, Shakeel Pelston and Abraham Wilson, who collectively face charges for crimes including the February 2021 murder of William “Red” Stevens, reputed to have been one of the most seasoned 27s gangsters.

Stevens was killed outside his Kraaifontein home ahead of his standing trial for the August 2017 killing of international steroid smuggler Brian Wainstein, also known as the Steroid King, murdered in his Constantia home – the same suburb in which Johnson and Stanfield were arrested in 2023.

Also on trial in connection with the assassination of the Steroid King is alleged Sexy Boys gangster Jerome “Donkie” Booysen, which again loops back to the developing Stanfield- and Johnson-focused case. That’s because the co-accused Cloete, Pelston and Wilson are also charged with the attempted murder of Jerome Booysen’s son, Joel.

This is the growing criminal accusation matrix that Stanfield and Johnson now find themselves in, including a case related to fraudulent gun licences that the couple had made as well as the Ayepyep Lifestyle Lounge on Kloof Street in Cape Town.

I am sure you’re getting a gist of just how wide the web of Western Cape gangsterism and organised crime is. Who knows how these people sleep at night?

[source:dailymaverick]