The defence lawyer for underworld kingpin Colin Booysen plans to use the State’s own witness against them to free his client.
Booysen’s bodyguard shot the man who allegedly told his manskappe “kom ons ‘up’ hulle”, the Bellville Magistrate's Court heard on Friday.
Booysen, Calvin Abels and Vuyisane Macingwane each face a charge of murder, following the death of alleged 26s gangster Adrian Pieterse.
Booysen, the brother of alleged Sexy Boys gang leader Jerome “Donkie” Booysen, was arrested last Wednesday.
In the incident in Belhar two weeks ago, it’s understood five people opened fire on Booysen’s car and his bodyguard returned fire.
According to a well-placed source, Booysen had had a fallout with Pieterse in front of a house in Jacaranda Street.
The insider says Pieterse walked away but later returned in a black Hyundai Getz with four others.
As Booysen was driving off in his BMW X5, he was pulled over by Pieterse.
“One of the passengers got out of the Getz and gunpointed Colin. His (Booysen’s) bodyguards got out of the silver BMW X5 and shot at the Getz,” the source said.
Pieterse, who was still in the Getz, was shot while the other four fled on foot.
Booysen’s lawyer, Advocate Bruce Hendricks, expressed outrage at his client’s arrest.
“How is someone guilty of murder when his bodyguard acted in defence when someone came at him with two bulletproof vests and an illegal firearm? It makes no sense,” Hendricks says.
The State’s case relies on a witness but Hendricks says this same witness can vindicate his client and on Friday, he handed in the witness’ police statement as evidence for the defence.
“This statement clearly states that the deceased [Pieterse] strapped up, put on a bulletproof vest over one he already had on and took a gun and said to his friend “kom ons up hulle” and went to Colin Booysen to kill him,” Hendricks submitted.
The State argued for the accused to be separated, but Hendricks refused to have Booysen sent to Pollsmoor Prison after he was attacked there in February.
Adrian Pieterse was killed in Belhar
“There was already a planned attack on Mr Booysen’s life in Pollsmoor,” Hendricks stated.
In the end, the magistrate decided that Booysen be sent to Drakenstein prison, while Abels was sent to Malmesbury and Macingwane to Goodwood prison.
The matter was postponed to 17 October for bail application.
Meanwhile, Booysen, along with businessman Nafiz Modack, Ashley Fields and Jacques Cronjé are due to go on trial next month on charges of money laundering and extortion linked to a violent takeover of the local nightclub security industry.
A fifth accused, Carl Lakay, was shot and killed at his Goodwood home in August.
The five were nabbed in December for allegedly trying to extort R369 000 from The Grand Africa Café and Beach near the V&A Waterfront.
That amount has now been reduced to R90 000.
The group were only released on bail three months later, in February.
robin.francke@inl.co.za