Cape Town’s most wanted criminal and the mastermind behind two gruesome mass shootings has finally been arrested.
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Yanga Nyalara, known as “Bara”, was caught completely off guard in the company of two female companions and 300 grams of tik when he was arrested in one of Cape Town’s more affluent suburbs on Saturday night.
Police have been trying to track him down for the last four years. He skipped his bail in 2018 after his arrest in connection with a cash-in-transit heist in Libode in the Eastern Cape and has been at large ever since. Police have put up a reward of R100 000 in assisting to track him down.
“Bara” is wanted on 31 charges including organised crime, possession of unlicensed firearms and ammunition, business robbery, drug dealing and charges of murder and attempted murder.
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He is implicated as the mastermind behind the horrendous mass shootings in Khayelitsha on 8 and 15 May 2020, where a total of 18 people lost their lives.
The mass shooting was initially believed to be related to extortion victims standing up to gangs, as well as a battle between rival gangs fighting for turf. “Bara” is said to be part of a gang that extorts money from business owners and allegedly deals in drugs as well.
“Bara” appeared in the Cape Town Magistrate’s Court on Monday under heavily armed guards. Specialist police officers with rifles were guarding the outside of the court while police in civilian clothes kept a watch from the streets outside of the courthouse.
Western Cape police commissioner Thembisile Patekile praised the police for their work that has resulted in the arrest of “Bara” and thanked the residents for providing vital information that could lead to even more leads.
Yanga Nyalara’s case is postponed to 18 August, when more charges could be added.
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Picture: SAPS