CAPE TOWN – The murder trial of slain steroid king, Brian Wainstein, has resumed at the Western Cape High Court, shadowed by a series of deaths linked to the case. The trial got back under way on Monday, just weeks after another co-accused became the latest victim in this bloody saga.
Despite the escalating body count, the legal proceedings continue. The court has commenced with a trial-within-a-trial to address intercepted phone calls related to a drug syndicate, which the State alleges was being operated by Jerome "Donkie" Booysen and several others.
During the investigation into the alleged drug network, police uncovered crucial information linking the suspects to Wainstein’s 2017 assassination and the ongoing power struggle for control over Cape Town’s lucrative nightclub security industry.
The defence had previously attempted to prevent the intercepted calls and their transcripts from being admitted as evidence. However, the court ruled that the audio recordings would be played in their entirety.
A police officer testified about the extensive investigation into what they termed "the brotherhood," a group allegedly comprising Jerome Booysen, his brother Colin Booysen, the late Mark Lifman, Andre Naudé, and others.
The officer informed the court that 10 out of 38 intercepted calls had been transcribed. However, they acknowledged that some calls were challenging to decipher due to the heavy use of gang slang and poor audio quality.
The high-stakes trial is set to continue.
In a separate but related development, alleged underworld figure Nafiz Modack’s tax matter has been postponed to next year. This delay will undoubtedly displease his co-accused, who will now have to wait even longer for proceedings to commence, due to Modack’s involvement in another case.
The postponement follows Modack’s successful application for Judge Mark Sher to recuse himself. Judge Sher had previously presided over Modack’s bail appeal in March 2023, in the case where Modack is accused of murdering top cop, Lieutenant-Colonel Charl Kinnear.
Modack, along with eight others, including his mother and brother, stands accused of defrauding the South African Revenue Service (SARS) of R46 million through a questionable tax refund scheme.
The trial was originally scheduled to begin, but the recusal meant that there was insufficient time to appoint a new judge. Consequently, the matter has been shifted to January 2026.
Despite the delay, Modack maintains that he requires adequate time to prepare his defence and has requested an electronic device to review the extensive court documents.
The court also heard that Faried van der Schyff, a bogus accountant and co-accused in the tax fraud case, had previously been provided with a device to prepare for the trial. However, the device was confiscated after van der Schyff was sentenced to three years' direct imprisonment in a separate tax fraud case heard at the Cape Town Regional Court.
The court was further informed that while the Kinnear murder trial is adjourned later this year, Modack will have a two-month window to prepare for the tax matter.
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