Two members of the Ferodo gang were sentenced to life in the Western Cape High Court yesterday.  

Jeremiah Fortuin (42) and Ricardo Cloete (43) were convicted of fatally shooting eight-months-pregnant Shahieda Nathan (21) and attempting to kill six others who were mistakenly identified as members of a rival gang, the Mobster, in June 21, 2020.  

Turf war 

Western Cape NPA spokesperson Eric Ntabazalila says the Ferodo and Mobster gangs operated in the Scottsdene, Kraaifontein area, and at the time of the incident were in a turf war over illegal drug trade.  
 
“Nine active gang groups are operating in the Kraaifontein area, with the Ferodo operating in an area known as the ‘Zoo’, which includes Klipbok Street and surrounding streets,” he says.  

Ntabazalila adds that during court proceedings, state Advocate Steven Rubin proved that on the morning of the incident, Fortuin and Cloete saw the late Alfredo Titus and the late Ridwaan Smith, members of the Mobster gang, getting into a yard on Klipbok Street and chased after them.

The shooting 

“Titus and Smith ran into the main house, but the accused thought they were in the backyard shack in which Nathan and six others were sitting, enjoying potjiekos and tik lollies,” he says. 

Ntabazalila explains that Cloete pointed out the shack to Fortuin who was armed with an illegal firearm.  

“Fortuin started to shoot at the shack, believing the two rival gang members were inside. The two accused then fled the scene, leaving behind fatally wounded Nathan and two wounded men aged 29 and 37,” he adds.  

Pleaded not guilty 

Fortuin and Cloete were arrested and Ntabazalila says they pleaded not guilty to the charges against them.  

“Fortuin claimed that he attended a party in Klapmuts on the evening of June 20, 2020, and came back very intoxicated. He slept until midmorning. He denied being in the yard,” says Ntabazalila.  

Cloete claimed he smoked drugs with a friend the night before the incident and woke up midmorning the next day. 

 “Advocate Rubin successfully applied for the submission of hearsay evidence, which were the two statements made by the late Titus and the late Smith,” he adds.  

Case proved beyond a reasonable doubt 

The court rejected their denial of being at the scene and of being Ferodo gang members. 

Fortuin was convicted on 10 charges, including being a member of a gang (contravention of Section 9 (2) of the Prevention of Organised Crime Act 121 of 1998), murder, six counts of attempted murder, illegal possession of a firearm and illegal possession of ammunition.

 Sentencing 

 The court sentenced him to six years’ direct imprisonment for being a member of a gang, life imprisonment for the murder, 15 years’ direct imprisonment for each of the six counts of attempted murder, eight years’ direct imprisonment for illegal possession of a firearm and three years’ direct imprisonment for illegal possession of ammunition.  

“His total prison sentences are life imprisonment and 107 years of direct imprisonment. The court ordered the sentences to run concurrently with the life imprisonment it handed down for the premeditated murder,” explains Ntabazalila. 
 
Cloete was convicted on the same charges except for the illegal possession of a firearm and the illegal possession of ammunition. It handed him the same sentences, except for the ones it handed to his co-accused of illegal possession of a firearm and illegal possession of ammunition.  

His total sentences are life imprisonment and 96 years of direct imprisonment.  
“The court also ordered the sentences to run concurrently with the life imprisonment it handed down for the premeditated murder,” says Ntabazalila.

 Dangerous criminals 

 Advocate Nicolette Bell, the director of public prosecutions in the Western Cape, applauds the investigation and prosecution team for removing two dangerous criminals from the community.  
 
She thanks the witnesses, including a family member of the accused who came forward to testify despite the potential danger they faced.  

“We need men and women like these who are prepared to hold hands with us to rid our communities of dangerous criminals and reclaim our communities. Communities cannot continue to be held at ransom by marauding gangs,” she adds.  

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