The former bodyguard of slain steroid king, Brian Wainstein, has told the Western Cape High Court how he betrayed his boss by meeting with those who planned to murder him and take over the steroid trade after he was killed.
But the witness, who cannot be named, said he was left to face the music alone when his co-conspirator, Kishor ‘Kamal’ Naidoo, fled the country after the murder and was subsequently listed as an international fugitive.
He said in the months leading up to Wainstein’s murder he met with several people including Mark Lifman, alleged Sexy Boys gang boss Jerome ‘Donkie’ Booysen, slain 27s gang boss William ‘Red’ Stevens and others, where details of the assassination were discussed.
He said conflicts arose when Naidoo became kwaad that Lifman did not want to fund the assassination upfront, while Donkie was unsure.
The witness said he was not aware of who ended up funding the plot, but told the court intricate details of how along with Naidoo they met with the gunman and driver at GoodHope Tyres, owned by Naidoo, to plan the underworld hit.
He said the hitman was recruited by Naidoo who poured cocaine on his desk and let the shooter sniff a couple of lines as he detailed how the hitman was to breach a fence near a river or jump over a tree to access Wainstein’s property.
The witness said they agreed that on the day of the murder he would put his cellphone off and another person was sent to guard Wainstein and his family while the witness went to suip at a pub in Table View.
He said after the murder he went to the house in Constantia where he saw cops along with Advocate Pete Mihalik and asked if he could see Wainstein’s body.
This, he explained, was so that he could provide confirmation to Naidoo that Wainstein was indeed dead.
He said after the murder, he took over the illegal steroid trade but sukkeled as he lacked the knowledge of how to produce the steroids.
He said Naidoo and Donkie each took a 30% cut from the profits and he paid them R20 000 in cash each week. He was later arrested.
monique.duval@inl.co.za