DURBAN - Wentworth Community Policing Forum chairperson Donny Anderson said the community will now have faith in the Wentworth SAPS detectives, after two gang members were handed lengthy jail sentences in the Durban Regional Court.
He said despite the conviction, the community still did not have faith in the justice system, but hopefully the community will now have faith in the local detectives for their hard work which was put into the investigation.
“If you check the ratio of cases and withdrawals of so many other so-called murders and attempted murders, unlicensed firearms, etc, it is still a worrying factor.”
Anderson had been reacting to Tuesday’s sentencing of Dane Majority, 33, the alleged leader of the Hollywood gang in Wentworth, and another gang member, Quadine Ogle, 26, who were convicted of a 2017 murder.
The two are appealing against their sentences. Majority and Ogle were found guilty of murder and three counts of attempted murder.
According to the court charge sheet on September 24, 2017, on Richard Winn Road, Wentworth, they caused the death of Hutchinson Samuel, 21.
Ogle and Majority unlawfully and intentionally assaulted Austen Lowe with intent to kill him, by shooting at him while he was in a motor vehicle, injuring him in his right leg.
Also in the vehicle was Devron Paul, who was injured in his right hand. A fourth occupant in the vehicle, Dilian Ogle, was not injured.
Ogle and Majority had pleaded not guilty to the charges since their first appearance in court on September 29, 2017.
Magistrate N Singh sentenced Ogle to eight years’ imprisonment for murder and five years each for the three attempted murders.
Majority was sentenced to 12 years’ imprisonment for murder and five years each for attempted murder. The court ordered that the attempted murder sentences must run concurrently for the men. Both were declared unfit to possess a firearm under the Firearms Control Act. They began their jail terms at the Department of Correctional Services in Westville.
Their attorney, Viren Singh, made an application for leave to appeal the sentences, which will be heard on April 5.
In his application, Singh stated that the magistrate erred in placing insufficient weight on the material and relevant discrepancies which the court accepted as having been established.
In recent years, the Hollywood gang based on Woodville Road has fought a bloody street war with several different gangs over the lucrative drug trade in the suburb. The Daily News has reported on several murders, including that of innocent bystanders caught in the crossfire.
Community activist Desmond D’Sa said the court still had a “revolving door” because of the number of times gang members were released back into the community without consultation with witnesses and victims. He said many had welcomed the sentences and hoped it brought an end to the tit-for-tat gang war.
“Families, especially mothers, are still weeping from their losses. The court has not dealt with the violence from the beginning and has failed to deal with this key issue. As leaders, we try and galvanise the community to improve living conditions. The court needs to stop the baton from being passed on to others.”
The victim’s family could not be reached for comment before deadline.
Daily News