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Two CT gangster handed lengthy prison terms for murder and other crimes

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Two gangsters from Manenberg in Cape Town have been sentenced in the Western Cape High Court to lengthy prison sentences after being found guilty of various crimes, including murder, committed during 2016 and 2017, the South African Police Service (SAPS) in the Western Cape said on Saturday.

On Friday, Donovan Manno, 26, was sentenced to two 24-year terms of imprisonment for two murders, three years for contraventions of the Prevention of Organised Crime Act (Poca), six years for possession of an illegal firearm, six years for possession of a prohibited firearm, and six years for possession of ammunition, Western Cape SAPS spokesperson Sergeant Noloyiso Rwexana said in a statement.

The sentences would run concurrently and he would serve an effective 24 years in prison.

Manno’s accomplice, a teenager, was sentenced to 13 years direct imprisonment, including three years for being in contravention of the Poca. “He was a juvenile when he committed these heinous crimes. Both accused were members of the Hard Livings gang.”

Manenberg SAPS serious violent crimes unit detectives conducted thorough investigations and ensured the conviction of the perpetrators. The experienced detectives presented a watertight case before the court, which led to the duo being successfully convicted, Rwexana said.

On November 21, 2016, at 9am, SAPS officers deployed in the Manenberg policing precinct patrolled the area in Red River Walk in Manenberg. They saw two suspicious persons running towards Red River Primary School.

“Police members observed and noticed the two men running through the school and as soon as they saw the police they dropped a firearm. Police members cornered the two and recovered a 9mm Norinco pistol with the serial number removed, loaded with ammunition.”

On October 17, 2017, 26-year-old Yusree Marais was fatally wounded in a gang shooting in Grieta Court in Manenberg. Manno and the teenager walked up to Marais, who was standing at the gate of a residence in Groeta Court, and fired several shots at him, fatally wounding him three times in the head. The victim died on the scene.

Manenberg SAPS detectives worked around the clock and obtained statements implicating the two as the shooters.

On October 18, 2017, at 3.20pm, 26-year-old Moegamat Cassiem O’Neil, a member of the Jesters gang, was sitting in Red River Street. According to eyewitnesses, two men walked up to him and, without any warning, fired several shots at him, killing him. As they fled the scene, an innocent bystander was hit by shrapnel, suffering a serious wound to her right leg.

Again, Manno and the teenager were pointed out as being the perpetrators in this shooting. Ten cartridges and three “projectiles” were collected as evidence from the crime scene.

Manno was arrested in Thames Avenue soon after the shooting and the unlicensed firearm was recovered in his possession. The teenager was also subsequently arrested and the two were kept in custody for the duration of the investigation, as the detectives had successfully opposed bail, citing “their reign of terror and ruthlessness”, Rwexana said.

Source: African News Agency (ANA)


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