‘Gang boss’ Madatt murdered in Cape Town, sparks more fears of Fancy Boys vs Americans fight

Suspected Americans gang boss Moegamat Sadeka Madatt's brother, gang leader Kaldimola ‘Dimes’ Madatt was killed in November 2022. (Photo: Facebook)

By Caryn Dolley

2 Apr 2024

Five people were killed in the Cape Town suburb of Woodstock 17 years ago in a revenge attack. Now, the owner of the premises where the massacre occurred, suspected Americans gang boss Mogamat Sadeka Madatt, has been murdered.

Extreme violence and shootings underpin one of the latest murders in Cape Town – the killing has also sparked fears of more gang violence in the suburb of Mitchells Plain.

There has recently been a surge of shootings across the city.

Last month the Western Cape police announced they were increasing efforts to crackdown on the violence.

“In light of recent shooting incidents that occurred… Western Cape police have bolstered deployments at identified hotspots,” a statement said.

“The intervention follows incidents where murder and attempted murders cases registered indicate a spike in shooting incidents that saw a significant number of individuals shot in [suburbs including] Mitchells Plain, Bishop Lavis, Philippi, Ravensmead and Elsie’s River.”

Madatt murdered

In one of the latest incidents, Daily Maverick has established that suspected Americans gang kingpin Mogamat Sadeka Madatt (sometimes spelled Moegamat Sadaka Madatt) was shot in the Kapteinsklip informal settlement in Mitchells Plain on the afternoon of Monday, 1 April 2024.

A web of crime and violence, spanning nearly two decades, underpins Madatt’s shooting.

He was rushed to hospital after being wounded on Monday but was declared dead there.

Read more in Daily Maverick: Cop arrest and transfer after repeat ‘missing’ guns scandal at Cape Town gang hotspot police station

Daily Maverick understands that there are suspicions that Fancy Boys gang members targeted Madatt.

Residents in Mitchells Plain, which police have already flagged in terms of increased shootings, now fear there will be fighting, including gun battles, between the Fancy Boys and the Americans, to which Madatt was allegedly connected.

Gang motive suspected

On Tuesday, 2 April, Western Cape police spokesperson Lieutenant-Colonel Malcolm Pojie, without naming who was killed, confirmed the shooting to Daily Maverick.

“The motive is believed to be gang-related,” he said.

He said a murder docket was opened after the shooting occurred at 5.25pm in the Kapteinsklip informal settlement and “claimed the life of a 55-year-old man”.

Pojie added: “Preliminary information reveals that the [police] members were dispatched to the local hospital following reports of the deceased who had succumbed to multiple gunshot wounds to the upper body.”

Other aspects relating to the shooting were under investigation.

Several violent incidents, some in which Madatt’s name cropped up, have occurred over the years and led up to Monday’s shooting.

History of killings

On 30 October 2007, news started spreading that an Americans gangster known as Charra had been murdered in Cape Town.

Days later, in November 2007, another Americans gangster, Mark Williams, also known as Markie Mokes, was murdered and suspicions emerged that Madatt ordered the killing.

That same month, on 5 November 2007, five people were shot execution-style and several taxis were set alight in the Cape Town suburb of Woodstock in an incident that, according to Western Cape High Court papers, became known as the Woodstock massacre.

Madatt owned the premises where the murders happened – a transport business was operating from there – and it was believed that the attack was in retaliation for Williams’s killing.

Infighting over drug turf

A November 2010 Western Cape High Court judgment, relating to the accused who faced charges for the Woodstock massacre, detailed how infighting tore apart the Americans gang, leading to murders.

“The facts that the State allege is that a conflict situation arose amongst the leaders of the American gang with regard to control over certain drug territories,” it said.

This apparently led to the 2007 murders of suspected Americans gangsters Charra and Mark “Markie Mokes” Williams.

The judgment continued: “An alleged American gang leader… Madatt was suspected of orchestrating the killing of Markie Mokes, with a suspicion that one of Madatt’s henchmen… had actually shot Markie Mokes.

“This event would eventually lead to the massacre in Woodstock where five people were gunned down on the premises of Madatt on 5 November 2007.”

Diamonds and drugs

The following year (2008) it was reported that Madatt was set to spend a decade in jail for diamond and drug dealing convictions. (Daily Maverick understands that roughly a decade later he faced another drug dealing charge, but it was withdrawn.)

Fifteen years after the Woodstock massacre, in November 2022, Madatt’s brother, former Americans gang boss Kaldimola “Dimes” Madatt, was fatally shot in Mitchells Plain.

Read more in Daily Maverick: Rocklands on alert after former Americans gang kingpin gunned down

And now Madatt himself has met the same fate.

At the time of his brother’s murder, Daily Maverick had reported that Kaldimola’s killing may have been an inside job, implying infighting in the Americans gang could have driven it.

Gang boss Madatt Suspected Americans gang boss Mogamat Sadeka Madatt's brother, gang leader Kaldimola ‘Dimes’ Madatt, was killed in November 2022. (Photo: Facebook)

Americans and Fancy Boys gang

As for Madatt’s murder on Monday, Daily Maverick established it had left some residents in Mitchells Plain fearing retaliation attacks involving the Americans and the rival Fancy Boys.

Last week the Global Initiative Against Transnational Organized Crime released its latest Western Cape Gang Monitor report that includes a focus on the two gangs.

It detailed how the Fancy Boys had been involved in an “expansion campaign” which involved capitalising on fragmentation in other gangs, such as the Americans.

“The Fancy Boys have exploited the internal conflict of rival gangs and developed an atypical strategy to strengthen their position: recruiting disaffected members from other gangs,” the report said.

“The Fancy Boys have offered higher wages, more drugs, and better and permanent weapons, essentially learning from the mistakes of the competition to create a more attractive environment for gangsters and aspiring gangsters.”

It said the amalgamation of splinter groups was unique.

“In some ways, however, it is reminiscent of the rise to prominence of the Americans gang in the 1980s and 1990s, when they waged a violent campaign across Cape Town, swallowing up territory and splinter groups by force.

“The Fancy Boys are taking a different approach, exploiting the current dynamics to achieve a similarly successful campaign of empire-building.” DM

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