A gang boss from Manenberg has been granted leave to appeal his life sentence handed down by the Western Cape High Court.
Convicted Clever Kidz gang leader, Moegamat Faeez “Faizy” Hendricks, was found guilty of murder and sentenced to life in the mang in October for the events which led up to the death of gang rival Angelo Davids, 35, of the Hard Livings.
Davids was stabbed and beaten and left to die in the street three years ago.
Judge Justice Ndita sentenced Faizy to 25 years behind bars and his co-accused, Naeem Benjamin of the Dixie Boys, to 20 years for Angelo’s death.
In her judgement, she said Faizy and his gang terrorised the community in their hunt for HL members after he was shot in the arm during a gang shooting.
The State’s star witness, Roegschanda Pascoe, went into hiding just days before the trial after skollies opened fire on her home.
Roegshanda Pascoe Photo: David Ritchie African News Agency (ANA)
On Tuesday Faizy and Benjamin lodged an application to appeal the sentence, claiming the court “over-emphasised” the reliance on the testimonies given by Pascoe and Craig Brink during the trial.
Judge Ndita granted the leave to appeal and the matter will be heard by a full bench of judges in the new year.
Pascoe says she is not surprised by the application and questions how their testimonies were “over-relied” on.
“We saw what happened and now they are probably going to go into our credibility, but they must answer this: if I am not a credible witness, then why did they put a hit out on me and shoot at my house just days before I had to testify in court?
“Until this day I am living in hiding and my children’s lives are destroyed because I stood up.
“We all saw what happened that night, but people were too afraid to give statements.”
During sentencing proceedings, it was revealed that Faizy had a long list of convictions, dating back to 1986, including theft, murder, arson, attempted murder, assault, firearm-related crimes and even a conviction for possession of explosives.
GRANTED: Convicted Clever Kidz gang leader Moegamat Faeez “Faizy” Hendricks, 51
In October 2000, he was given a 27-year sentence for murder, but only served 14 years before being granted parole.
The 51-year-old also stunned the court when he explained that he had fathered 25 children.