Extortion gangs in Mother City leave a trail of the dead in their wake

Two courts in Cape Town are hearing cases involving mass killings and extortion.

The trial of suspected hitman Yanga Nyalara and his co-accused Wanda Tofile, for committing 12 murders in Khayelitsha in May 2021, is being heard in the Goodwood Prison Court.

Two witnesses of the killings have themselves been murdered and the last surviving witness, after two attempts on his life, is testifying while wearing a Covid-19 mask to hide his identity.

Read more: Last surviving witness to Khayelitsha mass shooting identifies accused as culprits

In the second case, which is being heard in the Khayelitsha Magistrates’ Court, Athule Mtsha and Sithisa Masiko face four counts of murder, 11 counts of attempted murder and charges of the illegal possession of ammunition and firearms.

The charges stem from a shooting at a barber shop in Khayelitsha in June 2024.

Increase in extortion

In April, the Global Initiative Against Transnational Organized Crime (GI-Toc) reported that extortion was growing rapidly and spreading throughout Cape Town, and the groups involved were well organised.

Police cordon off an area in Gugulethu, Cape Town in 2020 where eight people were shot and killed at a house in NY78. (Photo: Fanie Jason)

According to the report, the extortionists were targeting a wide spectrum of people and businesses: from street vendors selling their wares in Mitchells Plain or Khayelitsha, to bar and restaurant owners in the city centre; from construction companies building roads or houses, to municipal workers and contractors providing basic services.

In April 2021, Peter Gastrow, a senior adviser at the initiative, released a report, Lifting the Veil on Extortion in Cape Town, which painted a bleak picture of the scourge in Khayelitsha. It noted that:

• In 2017, Somali shopkeepers could no longer resist the gangs' demands for protection fees. They entered into a deal with them to pay the fees in exchange for the promised protection.


• In 2020, extortionists from the Gupta and Boko Haram gangs in Khayelitsha stepped up their criminal activities.

15 May 2021 mass killing

The massacre was precipitated by an earlier incident. Sikhumbule Nkonki was collecting extortion money from shopkeepers at the Tea & Tea Cash Store in Site B, Khayelitsha, when an opposition group involved in the extortion of foreign shopkeepers and informal businesses shot him dead.

This resulted in Yanga Nyalara, his co-accused Wanda Tofile, and Manelisi Nguma, who has since been acquitted, and about 11 armed men gathering near the home of the alleged leader of the opposing group in Site B on 15 May 2021.

Nyalara and his gang were armed with 9mm semi-automatic pistols. According to court papers, the group randomly targeted community members who were near informal businesses in an area known for extortion by the opposing group.

Twelve people were killed and seven injured in the 70-minute shooting spree.

Three people saw the massacre. Two were subsequently killed, while the remaining witness survived two attempts on his life, the most recent on 2 July.

The witness, who the court named only as “Mr Z” agreed to testify as long as his face was covered, and the court ruled he could give his evidence while wearing a Covid mask.

On Monday, 29 July police armed with R5 rifles transported Mr Z to and from the Goodwood Prison Court. He identified Nyalara and Tofile as two of the perpetrators of the mass shooting.

Barber shop mass shooting

On the afternoon of 8 June 2024, two gunmen stormed into the Mzwa barber shop on Gqrwarha Street, Khayelitsha, and opened fire on customers, killing Bafana Jikane (30), Lunje Chomo (12), Snoyolo Mtsamayi (11) and Enzokhule Dladlu (5). A total of 28 spent cartridges and three bullets were retrieved from the crime scene.

The National Prosecuting Authority has yet to reveal the motive behind the mass shooting. However, Fransina Lukas, chairperson of the Western Cape Community Policing Forum, believes the incident was related to extortion.

During the bail application of Athule Mtsha and Sithisa Masiko, investigating officer Constable Sibusiso Manqndi said they had not bothered to cover their faces and wanted to instil fear in the Site C, Khayelitsha community.

Mtsha was released on R10,000 bail, while Masiko was released on R5,000 bail on Friday, 26 July. In terms of the conditions, both are not permitted to enter Khayelitsha for the duration of this matter, except for court appearances.

Police have been tight-lipped about the identity of the witnesses in the trial.

A body lies in the road at a crime scene where eight people were gunned down in Khayelitsha, Cape Town on 17 April 2024. (Photo by Gallo Images / Brenton Geach)

Other recent mass shootings in Khayelitsha include:

1. 17 April 2024: Morning of murders — eight people shot dead in Khayelitsha


2. 26 March 2023: Mass shooting in Khayelitsha leaves four dead, five injured


3. 7 June 2022: Six killed in two Cape Town shootings within 13 hours


4. June 2022: Khayelitsha community says ‘black lives don’t matter’ after 86 die in 36 mass shootings in one year


5. May 2022: Six dead in latest mass shooting in Cape Town as police make arrest for previous killings

Suspected police corruption

In the Western Cape High Court earlier this year, two members of the Gupta gang, Gcinithemba Beja and Fundile Maseti, each received seven life sentences for a mass murder in 2020 at a house in Khayelitsha that doubled as a shebeen.

They shot dead seven people attending a party at the house and wounded several others, including a six-year-old girl.

The attack stemmed from a battle for extortion turf between the Gupta gang and the owner of the house, a man named in court papers as “Ntera”, an erstwhile friend of the accused. He was one of the seven who were slain.

Read more: Judge throws book at Gupta gang duo — seven life sentences for each of seven murders 

In his judgment, Judge Daniel Thulare said, “The attack was intended to send a message to anyone who crossed the path of the Gupta gang, that it was not only the betrayer who was put in danger, but anyone associated with such [a] crosser.”

A witness identified as Mr X went to the police the next day and recognised some officers who he knew were close to the Gupta gang.

“The Guptas worked with some police officers and had an established network in their rule by the bullet through gangsterism, forceful demand for ‘protection fees’ and extortion,” said Judge Thulare. DM