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Malusi Booi’s murdered co-accused in R1bn unlawful tender case linked to a string of housing scandals in 28s gangland

Carl Pophaim. (Photo: Instagram)

29 Sep 2024

Abdul Kader Davids was murdered in Cape Town on 20 September, two days after being granted bail in the unlawful tender case in which he was a co-accused with former DA human settlements mayoral committee member Malusi Booi. It turns out that Davids’s company was linked to a stalled housing project in Valhalla Park and another company with a controversial history.

‘Today we are at Valhalla Park where a housing project of more than 700 housing opportunities is being developed… The ward councillor is very excited that the project is going very well.

“As the City of Cape Town, we have done an investment of more than R180-million in this project, and we are hoping to complete this particular project in 2022.”

These were the words of Malusi Booi in August 2021, when he was Cape Town’s mayoral committee member for human settlements.

He was speaking during a visit to the Valhalla Park housing project and part of that was captured on video posted to the city’s social media accounts.

Some of the footage shows two newly built houses with banners on them depicting the logo of Glomix House Brokers.

‘Intimidation and abandoned projects’

Glomix, a company that Treasury has since blacklisted nationally, was headed by Nicole Johnson – her husband is 28s gang boss accused Ralph Stanfield.

Late in 2023, the Special Investigating Unit issued a statement about construction mafia matters, saying: “Several Cape Town construction contractors had to abandon government housing construction sites following alleged acts of intimidation and violence.

“Thereafter, the Western Cape government’s human settlements department awarded Johnson’s company, Glomix House Brokers, the contracts for completing these abandoned projects.”

Tying into that, in 2018 the city emphasised in Parliament that it was worried “about the intimidation of contractors, specifically in the Valhalla Park area” and that “threats were made by gangs as they sought payments from contractors, and this put the contractors’ and their families’ lives at risk”.

This directly affected several residents.

Booi Cape Town city manager Lungelo Mbandazayo City manager Lungelo Mbandazayo during the release of the city’s inaugural Infrastructure Report in St George’s Mall on 2 February 2023. (Photo: Gallo Images / ER Lombard)

‘Waiting since the Nineties’

GroundUp previously reported on Gladys Minords, who had faced eviction while living in the backyard of a Bishop Lavis home, and who was among those waiting to benefit from subsidised Valhalla Park housing.

“It pains me so much what is happening with this project. I have been waiting for a house since the 1990s. I am old. I have diabetes and high blood pressure. Both my husband and I do not work,” she had said.

“The people from the City of Cape Town came here and gave us letters that they are stopping the construction of houses because of violence. But for how long will the project be stopped? Must we still wait? Is there no other project they can put us in?”

While Booi previously expressed hope that the Valhalla Park housing project would be completed in 2022, the city told Daily Maverick last week it may be finalised in 2028.

Most of the units – more than 500 – are still to be built, which means at least 500 people meant to access those homes are in for a long wait.

Aside from delays, Valhalla Park housing matters now also branch out towards several criminal accusations that extend to violence, including murders.

Ralph Stanfield Nicole Johnson Ralph Stanfield and Nicole Johnson. (Photo: Jaco Marais / Gallo Images / Die Burger)

R1-billion tenders and a murder

Earlier this month Booi and nine others were arrested in a major investigation into unlawful tenders which the State alleged were headed by Johnson and Stanfield.

According to the state, the case involved eight tenders worth more than R1-billion.

Read more: Malusi Booi and Ralph Stanfield — R1-billion in tenders and ex-gang boss’s assassination crop up in court

A draft charge sheet alleges that an accused, Siphokazi September, a city human settlements department official who was dismissed in January, used her influence to award tenders to Glomix and related companies to benefit herself, Stanfield, Johnson and Booi.

It also alleges that Booi accepted gratifications from Stanfield and in exchange used his influence over tenders.

Booi has suggested the allegations against him are false and have put his life in danger.

Among his nine co-accused was Abdul Kader Davids who headed the company ZSM Developers and Projects, which the State alleges colluded with Glomix.

A company search by Daily Maverick showed that he was also a director of a second company linked to Johnson.

Read more: Accused in Booi and Stanfield R1-billion tenders case murdered two days after bail release

On 20 September, two days after being released from custody on R250,000 bail in the Booi tender enterprise case, Davids was shot in Mitchells Plain, where he died on the pavement outside a home.

The motive for Davids’s murder was not immediately clear.

The shooting, the raid and the investigations

Rewind to 2023 and the runup to all of this.

There was another fatal shooting.

In February 2023, City official Wendy Kloppers was murdered at a housing development project in Delft. (A company search of Davids’s ZSM Developers and Projects shows that its registered address happens to be in the same suburb – Delft.)

Read more: Suspect arrested for Cape Town ‘construction mafia’ murder of city worker Wendy Kloppers

It previously emerged that Kloppers may have been killed for not giving in to the demands of gangsters wanting work from contractors at the site.

Her murder resulted in the city investigating certain construction-related tenders – and Glomix cropped up in these probes.

A month after Kloppers was killed, in March 2023, Booi’s City of Cape Town office was raided as part of a police investigation into tenders – and Stanfield’s name surfaced in this probe.

Booi was subsequently fired, and he later resigned as a councillor.

A photograph, taken at the Valhalla Park housing project and posted to the Facebook page of Cape Town human settlements mayco member Malusi Booi, in August 2021. The woman in the centre is Nicole Johnson, whose husband is suspected 28s gang boss Ralph Stanfield. (Photo: Supplied)

Glomix, Valhalla Park and 28s

Meanwhile, in the same month Booi’s office was raided – March 2023 – Daily Maverick reported that Glomix was still involved in building 204 houses in Valhalla Park, where residents had complained about the company’s operations relating to a tender.

Parts of Valhalla Park are known as 28s gang strongholds.

A 2020 Western High Court judgment, referencing a police officer’s testimony about a double murder, alleged that “the Stanfield family… control[s] the 28s in the Valhalla Park area”.

Read more: Company previously flagged over ‘28s gang’ suspicions still building houses for Western Cape government

This means Johnson, the wife of 28s gang boss accused Stanfield, was involved in building homes in a suburb where a policeman alleged the Stanfield family controlled the 28s.

Daily Maverick has since established that Davids’s ZSM Developers and Projects was also linked to housing in Valhalla Park.

ZSM vs the city

The company “ZSM Developers” is referenced in the Western Cape government’s Department of Human Settlements 2022-23 annual report.

A “project description” in the report said: “Reappoint ZSM Developers for the structure construction for the Valhalla Park housing project.”

This suggests ZSM was doing work at the project.

The value of that related contract, according to the annual report, was nearly R19-million.

In March 2024 ZSM appeared on the Western Cape High Court roll’s list of applications being heard.

The matter was listed as “ZSM Developers and Projects (Pty) Ltd vs City Manager: City of Cape Town & 3 others”.

A few months later it became clearer as to why ZSM was legally up against the city manager.

‘Concealed collusion’

In July, IOL reported that according to legal letters, city manager Lungelo Mbandazayo had pointed out that two companies – ZSM Developers and Boon Group – had not disclosed that they were linked to Glomix.

It was alleged that the three were rival bidders for contracts but were actually connected.

At the time, according to the article, Boon’s head, Muhammadh Amod, had denied collusion with Glomix and ZSM.

Roughly two months after that, bringing the matter nearly up to speed and to this month, Amod and Davids were among the nine suspects arrested along with Booi in the unlawful tender enterprise case.

The draft charge sheet alleged that certain accused, with the intent to defraud the city or other bidders, had pretended to the city “that the Boon Group, Glomix House Brokers and ZSM Projects independently applied” for two tenders.

It effectively alleged that Boon, Glomix and ZSM had tendered “collusively”.

That case was developing when Davids was murdered on 20 September.

Read more: ‘I want to empty a gun in his head’ – chilling affidavit about alleged 28s gang boss Ralph Stanfield’s ‘plans’

As for Stanfield and Johnson, they have been detained since their arrests in September 2023 in a separate case that initially focused on car theft and fraud charges.

The case against them has grown to include other accused and accusations – some are allegedly linked to the February 2023 murder of Wendy Kloppers.

That Stanfield and Johnson matter may be joined to the Booi and co unlawful tender enterprise case in October.

The accused are yet to plead and present their versions of what transpired.

Carl Pophaim. (Photo: Instagram)

‘Substantial delays’

While it is not clear whether Valhalla Park housing features, or will feature, in the unlawful tender enterprise case, it is clear that Glomix was involved in building houses in that suburb.

And it is alleged that Glomix was colluding with others including Davids’s ZSM, which, based on a Western Cape government human settlements annual report, was also involved in building homes in Valhalla Park, where the intimidation of contractors has been a problem.

Glomix and ZSM now also feature in the unlawful tender enterprise case in which Booi is one of the main accused.

Last week, in response to Daily Maverick’s questions about the Valhalla Park housing project, Carl Pophaim, who took over from Booi as the human settlements mayoral committee member, said it involved 781 units and started in March 2019.

Of those units, 537 were still to be built, meaning 537 beneficiaries were still in line to be accommodated there.

@carlpophaim_za It’s never easy, but it is so so worth it. Today we handed over 244 new homes to beneficiaries of Valhalla Park. We continue to work towards Building Cape Town Together. #CoCTHS #BigOnServiceDelivery ♬ original sound - Jodi Jantjies

“Completion was planned for October 2023 via the Western Cape Government Department of Infrastructure Panel of Contractors,” Pophaim said.

“Substantial delays were experienced during the time that contractors from the [Western Cape Government] Panel of Contractors were attending to the work.

“The city took over the project in November 2023 and is currently undertaking a review and planning for procurement of a contractor for the completion of remaining units.”

Pophaim said the project, “subject to all statutory/regulatory approvals in place,” may be completed by June 2028. DM

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