Trial of steroid king to go ahead, despite Mark Lifman’s assassination
The National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) said they would continue with the prosecution of the men accused alongside Mark Lifman following his death.
This was confirmed by National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) spokesperson, Eric Ntabazalila, amid questions surrounding the trial of slain steroid king Brian Wainstein.
“The State will handover a death certificate to the court and will continue with the prosecution of the remaining accused,” Ntabazalila said.
“The State will not stop prosecution or withdraw charges against any of the remaining accused.”
The mammoth underworld trial is set to return to the Western Cape High Court on Monday, where Lifman’s death certificate is expected to be handed to Judge Vincent Saldanha.
Lifman was killed outside Garden Route Mall on Sunday, where he was allegedly shot five times.
The next day his absence at the trial was noted and the judge was informed that the State sought a postponement to obtain the death certificate and deal with other administrative issues.
Over the past few months Lifman has gone on trial alongside Jerome ‘Donkie’ Booysen, Andre Naude, Sam Farquharson, Egan Norman, Wayne Henderson, Ricardo Maarman, Typhene Jantjies, Bevan Ezaus, Bradley De Bula, Kashief Hanslo, Rowendel Stevens, Ismail Cupido and Igor Russol.
The group face a plethora of charges linked to the murder of Wainstein and clashes at nightclubs in the Cape Town CBD.
According to the indictment, Lifman was the main accused in the murder of Wainstein and the conspiracy to murder Nafiz Modack, Colin Booysen, Carl Lakay, Ashley Fields, Emile Goodley and James Dalton.
He was also charged with money laundering, conspiracy to commit public violence and charges under the Prevention of Organised Crime Act (NPA).
Lifman is the fourth accused in the mammoth trial to be killed in recent years. Shortly after their arrests, Lifman, Booysen and alleged 27s gang boss William “Red” Stevens were granted bail of R100,000.
But in February 2021, Stevens was gunned down outside his home in Rembrandt Street, Kraaifontein. The notorious mastermind, who was known for his full face of tattoos and affiliations with other underworld figures was declared dead on the scene and years later two alleged henchmen of alleged 28s gang boss, Ralph Stanfield, were charged for the murder.
A month later another accused Jason Maits was shot and killed while leaving his home in Westridge.
More than a year later another accused, Anthony Ameer van der Watt, was shot and killed while travelling along on the M5 highway.
The horrific incident on October 6, 2022, saw the road being blocked off as police questioned Van der Watt’s driver and his death was later confirmed during the pretrial hearings.
CapeArgus