Northern Cape top cop under ‘unlawful surveillance’ - police
9 May 2017
Cape Town - Northern Cape provincial police commissioner Risimati Shivuri, who was last week spotted meeting alleged underworld figure Nafiz Modack in an upmarket hotel, was under illegal surveillance.
This is according to the national police.
Last Thursday night News24 witnessed Modack, said to be heading a faction taking over nightclub security in a battle that has turned violent, and Shivuri sitting together and talking in the upmarket hotel near the Waterfront.
It is not clear what they were discussing.
News24 sent questions to police asking, among other things, if acting national commissioner Khomotso Phahlane would take action against Shivuri.
Internal battle
In a response from Major-General Sally de Beer, on behalf of the police, said: "The placement of the Provincial Commissioner: Northern Cape under unlawful surveillance by those with ulterior motives is strongly condemned."
The response said the police would not be commenting on Shivuri's "movements and meetings" through the media.
It was not made clear who had illegally being observing Shivuri.
But News24 understands this could refer to an internal battle within police or between intelligence services and police.
Several sources with links to policing and the underworld believe the shift in the club security industry has been orchestrated by police and informants to try and take down key underworld players.
The State Security Agency has previously denied this.
But rumours of police, Hawks and Crime Intelligence officers' involvement in the underworld shift have persisted.
Modack is said to be heading up a faction taking over nightclub security as an underworld turf war escalates.
Underworld coup
His faction is said to be effectively ousting an older more established grouping.
Well-placed sources with intimate knowledge of the situation have also claimed that acting provincial police commissioner Major-General Patrick Mbotho has met with Modack at least twice over matters relating to a vehicle and firearms.
Mbotho has denied this.
He has however confirmed that he met with Modack over a complaint about police.
Violence relating to the so-called underworld coup has been brewing for weeks and peaked late on Monday.
Alleged Sexy Boys gang boss Jerome "Donkie" Booysen was wounded in a shooting in Elsie's River on Monday evening.
A man who Booysen apparently been on his way to see had been shot and killed
Booysen is said to have been on the way to this scene when he was targeted.
A week before that Mayon McKenna, who had alleged links to the underworld in that he offered protection to some key figures, was shot dead in Elsie's River.
A second man, aged 23, was also killed.
Just one day after that, 11 people were wounded and two killed in a drive-by shooting in Elsie's River.
On Thursday night last week, a woman was wounded in a shooting in a popular Loop Street club.
On April 17, two men were wounded in a shooting in Café Caprice in Camps Bay.
Both incidents are believed to be linked to the underworld club security war.
