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Cape Town court murder fits into matrix of shootings with suspected gang and taxi links

Cape Town court murder fits into matrix of shootings with suspected gang and taxi links
A police officer walks into the Wynberg Magistrate’s Court. (Photo: Gallo Images / Die Burger / Theo Jeptha)
Caryn Dolley
By Caryn Dolley
9 Apr 2025
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The murder of an accused inside a Cape Town court this week happened on the same day at least two other deadly shootings unfolded in the city — and it fits into a broader matrix of violence with suspected links to gang and taxi industry ructions.

Hours after an individual was murdered inside a magistrate’s court in Cape Town, sparking questions about security measures there, another shooting unfolded in a nearby suburb and a taxi appears to have been targeted.

The two fatal shootings, along with a double killing that occurred on the same day, now form part of a broader pattern of violence across the city involving suspicions that they are linked to gangsters and the taxi industry.

A police officer walks into the Wynberg Magistrate’s Court. (Photo: Gallo Images / Die Burger / Theo Jeptha)



Some of the bloodshed may loop back to a murder that happened earlier this year.

On 30 January, suspected Junky Funky Kids gang leader Ashley Phillips, also known as Essie, was shot outside Cape Town’s Brackenfell police station.

Read more: Dissecting a deadly Cape Town shooting — questions emerge about 28s gangsters, cops and ‘informants’

It is understood his killing caused a reconfiguring among some gangs around the city, including the Mongrels and the Flakka Kids, and ultimately led to Junky Funky Kids members taking on certain taxi figures.

Phillips had strong ties to Lavender Hill, a Cape Flats suburb near areas where recent taxi ructions have been playing out. Gangs are known to try to dominate taxi routes for various reasons.

Court killing


On Tuesday, 8 April 2025, Daily Maverick reported that a man was fatally shot inside the Wynberg Magistrate’s Court during the morning.

The incident happened while court processes were fully under way, and when many people, including staff, lawyers, accused, witnesses and those there to observe proceedings, were inside the building.

Read more: Murder rocks Cape Town court, close to scene of previous killing of an accused

It is understood that gangsters may have smuggled a firearm into the court and targeted the man, an accused in a case.

News24 named him as Dingalomoya Cintso. (Daily Maverick has another spelling of his name, which has not yet been officially confirmed.)

According to a source with knowledge of the matter, the man was linked to the taxi industry.

Taxi target


Hours after the court shooting, another incident unfolded on the corner of Main and Military roads in the Cape Town suburb of Kirstenhof.

Images from that scene show a taxi.

On Wednesday, 9 April 2025, Daily Maverick asked the Western Cape police if the court shooting and taxi incident were connected. Spokesperson Sergeant Wesley Twigg said the court shooting was still under investigation.

“The investigating officer is following up all leads in a bid to make a breakthrough in the case,” he said.



As for the taxi incident that unfolded about nine hours after the court killing, Twigg said a 38-year-old man was murdered in a shooting, while three others were wounded.

“The motive for the attack has yet to be established,” he said. “The suspects fled the scene and have yet to be arrested.”

Double murder


A double murder was also reported in the city on Tuesday.

It happened in Capricorn, which is adjacent to (and also known as) Vrygrond, where tensions involving gangs and taxi industry figures have been simmering.

Read more: Traumatised Vrygrond residents turn to God after nine killed in battle between gangsters and taxi drivers

Another Western Cape police spokesperson, Warrant Officer Joseph Swartbooi, told Daily Maverick that the incident was still under investigation.

“Upon arrival at the crime scene in Apple Street in Capricorn, (officers) found the bodies of two females inside the house who had sustained gunshot wounds,” he said.

The suspects managed to get away from the scene. Swartbooi said the motive for the attack was not yet clear.

Pistol and ammunition seized


On Wednesday police in the Western Cape announced that they had cracked down on the Capricorn/Vrygrond area via their Operation Shanela.

Spokesperson Lieutenant-Colonel Malcolm Pojie said that on Tuesday at 5pm (which was about six hours after the Wynberg court shooting and potentially around the time of the double murder in Capricorn) officers were deployed there “to curb the ongoing violence”.



“(They) performed crime-combatting patrols at the taxi rank when they observed a suspicious man who tried to avoid the members who approached him,” Pojie said. 

“The members in pursuit of the suspect apprehended him, and upon searching him found a 9mm Norinco pistol with ammunition in his possession.”

According to Pojie, the man could not produce a licence or competency certificate for the firearm and ammunition, and was therefore arrested. 

Combined crime


Last week, Western Cape Police Commissioner Thembisile Patekile gave a presentation on gangsterism in the province to Parliament’s police committee.

A section of it dealt with taxi violence.

“The taxi industry in the Western Cape has been linked to organised crime. 

“In some areas criminal gangs have infiltrated taxi associations using violence to control routes or extort money from operators,” the presentation said.

Read more: Police bosses roasted while gangs go ‘corporate’ and cops lack resources, proper vetting

Gangs, it said, often used taxis as fronts for other lawbreaking activities, including drug trafficking.

“Taxi owners often pay protection fees to local gangsters in exchange for protection from rivals,” the presentation added.

“This creates an environment where violence is often seen as a way to solve disputes or enforce control.” DM

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