A trial date has been set for one of the Cape’s most high-profile cases.
The case involving alleged underworld kingpin Mark Lifman, alleged gang boss Jerome ‘Donkie’ Booysen, alleged international kingpin ‘Igor the Russian’ and their 12 co-accused was heard in the Western Cape High Court on Friday.
They are all alleged to have been involved in the 2017 murder of ‘Steroid King’ Brian Wainstein.
Wainstein was killed at his larney Constantia home.
Lifman and Booysen, along with slain 27s gang boss William ‘Red’ Stevens, was arrested by the Hawks in December 2020 in connection with the murder.
Stevens was one of three co-accused who didn’t get to see the trial carry through after he was gunned down in Kraaifontein in 2021.
A month later, Jason Maits was also shot and killed in Mitchells Plain, while Anthony Aamier van der Watt died in a hail of bullets in October 2022.
The Daily Voice previously reported those that implicated in Wainstein’s murder are alleged to have wanted him out of the picture as a result of competition in the illegal steroids market, while fights over nightclub security also lingered.
Igor Russol, also known as Igor the Russian, also joined the accused on Friday and informed the court that although he understands English, he felt it would be good to get a Russian interpreter when trial commenced.
Judge Nathan Erasmus wouldn’t take any excuse from the accused defence and also gave a lecture to the legal representatives about time management.
This after some of the accused and attorneys did not stiek uit to court or arrived late.
Erasmus was told this was because of Cape Town’s traffic woes.
Erasmus postponed the case to February 10 for some of the accused and the trial date to July 24 to September 20.
tracy-lynn.ruiters@inl.co.za