During the murder trial of Nafiz Modack and 14 co-defendants at the Western Cape High Court, Juandre Naude, the son of security firm owner Andre Naude, provided testimony.
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According to News24, he recounted an incident where his father’s house was targeted by gunfire, specifically his bedroom window. Juandre recalled waking up with his girlfriend at around 4:45am on 6 September 2019, to the sound of a loud noise.
‘I also felt glass on my face,’ he testified.
He positioned himself on the side of the bed nearest to the window and sliding door. Without hesitation, he swiftly pushed his girlfriend off the bed and shielded her by throwing himself over her.
‘I lay on top of her body to shield her,’ he testified.
As the gunfire ceased abruptly, he anticipated a potential breach of the house. Quickly, he dashed to the kitchen, retrieved a knife, and concealed himself behind a column near a door. Simultaneously, he called his father to alert him of the attack. His father, who habitually locked both the bedroom door and the passage leading to his room, remained a concern.
Juandre feared his father might unknowingly open the door if he heard any knocking. Fortunately, the attack subsided without any attempts to infiltrate the house. During the trial, a brief and grainy 12-second CCTV clip was presented, depicting two figures hastily moving outside the house before fleeing.
Juandre Naude disclosed that his father and uncle had previously faced targeting in Durbanville approximately three months earlier. He testified that his father had transitioned from construction to security and was affiliated with a firm named PSP Security.
Additionally, Naude noted overlapping details between the Modack trial and the indictment of Mark Lifman, Jerome Booysen, Andre Naude and 11 others. The state alleged a violent clash between these groups over nightclub and restaurant security in Cape Town, resulting in shootings throughout the city as they vied for territory.
Describing the trajectory of the bullets, Naude stated that the lowest entry point through the sliding door was about 100mm from the floor, with variations in height ranging up to bullets hitting the ceiling.
He expressed concerns about potential harm to himself and his girlfriend, given their typical wake-up time of 5am, suggesting they might have been at risk if they had been awake and moving around during the attack.
In an earlier testimony during the trial, the first witness, identified as Mr A, detailed an attempt to intimidate Jerome Booysen by pretending to deliver a parcel to Naude’s residence. However, Naude’s wife rebuffed the ruse. Mr A later returned and fired shots at the windows of the house.
During cross-examination by Modack’s lawyer, advocate Bash Sibda, Juandre Naude affirmed that his father had been previously shot in 2014 during an altercation at a nightclub in Tyger Valley involving a Turk.
Following Juandre Naude’s testimony, former Hawks officer Nicolaas Heerschap took the stand to recount the events leading up to his father’s murder on 9 July 2019, in Melkbosstrand.
Mr A had testified that he was responsible for the murder of Heerschap Senior and alleged it was on behalf of Modack.
The trial involving Modack and his co-accused primarily revolves around the murders of Heerschap, tow truck driver Richard Joseph, and Anti-Gang Unit detective Charl Kinnear, along with the attempted murder of lawyer William Booth. All defendants have pleaded not guilty.
In a separate trial involving Mark Lifman, Jerome Booysen, Andre Naude, and others, the focus is on the murder of steroids dealer Brian Wainstein and conflicts over nightclub security. Similarly, all defendants in this trial have pleaded not guilty.
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Picture: Jaco Marais / Gallo Images