Update
NATIONAL NEWS - Seven months after businessman and alleged underworld figure, Mark Lifman, was gunned down in the parking lot at the Garden Route Mall on 3 November 2024, his business partner and friend, André Naudé, was murdered in Parow this afternoon, 12 June.
According to reports, the shooting took place in Voortrekker Road. Naudé was declared dead on the scene. Details surrounding the incident are still unclear.
George Herald was told that Jerome “Donkie” Booysen, another business partner of Lifman and Naudé and the alleged gang boss of the Sexy Boys, arrived on the scene afterwards.
Naudé and Booysen had on several occasions attended the court proceedings in George of the two men accused of Lifman’s murder, Johannes Jacobs and Gert Bezuidenhout.
The trio were towering figures in Cape Town’s private security industry and were co-accused in the high-profile case involving the 2017 assassination of “Steroid King” Brian Wainstein in Constantia.
Lifman murder
Lifman was gunned down in a brazen daylight execution. CCTV footage captured the shocking scene at the Garden Route Mall, where he was shot multiple times in the face and chest as he walked to his bakkie.
The investigation into Lifman’s killing led to the arrest of Jacobs and Bezuidenhout, both linked to private security. They are currently awaiting trial.
Previously, Naudé revealed to the media that he had narrowly escaped an apparent attempt on his life just days before Lifman’s murder, when gunmen pulled up beside his car on the N1 near Paarl. He managed to draw his own weapon, prompting the attackers to flee.
2017 assassination of “Steroid King”
Naudé , Lifman, and Booysen were among thirteen accused in the Wainstein case, which has seen repeated delays due to medical issues.
Wainstein, an alleged illegal steroid dealer, was shot execution-style while sleeping next to his partner and two-year-old daughter in August 2017.
Prosecutors allege that Naudé , Lifman, and Booysen orchestrated the killing to protect their alleged interests in the nightclub security and steroid rackets.
In court filings, the state has accused the group of running a violent underworld enterprise, listing charges that include conspiracy to commit murder, money laundering, illegal possession of firearms, and obstruction of justice.
Naudé’s killing now raises fresh questions about whether someone is systematically targeting key figures involved in the Wainstein case.
Authorities have not yet officially confirmed Naudé’s identity, but reliable sources close to the investigation confirmed it is him.
André Naudé (right) leaving the George Magistrate's Court on 12 December 2024. Next to him is Joel Booysen. Photo: Lizette da Silva
André Naudé, Jerome "Donkie" Booysen and Joel Booysen in the George Magistrate's Court. Photo: Kristy Kolberg
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