ACCUSED: Durban arms dealer Anderson Padayachee
Image: Armand Hough
A LOTUS River mom took to the witness stand at the Western Cape High Court to relive her teen son’s last moments after he was allegedly shot and killed by a firearm which the State contends was sold illegally by Anderson Padayachee.
The Durban arms dealer returned to court on Monday where he is facing over 60 charges relating to the alleged illegal sale of firearms to Cape Flats gangs.
According to the indictment, Padayachee is now facing eight murder charges and five attempted murder charges, where the firearms he allegedly supplied were used in gang wars.
The cases which are spread across the Cape Flats include the murders of several men who were killed in gang shootings in various areas including Bonteheuwel, Kalksteenfontein and Lotus River among others.
The court papers allege that Padayachee assisted the Terrible Josters in the period between August 2017 and May 2019 and earlier evidence presented in the trial showed that he was linked to TikTok creator Suhail Mohamed, 34, aka Mr Zulu.
Taking the stand yesterday, the mother of Lotus River teen Chad Julius told the court on the night her son was killed she was asleep as gun shots rang out in a street nearby.
Mom Lesley-Kim Weavers, 44, says the 19-year-old was found face down after being shot in the head.
She says: "My mother woke me up and her boyfriend told me Chad was lying in the road. I ran to him and saw him with blood coming out of his head. He was lying on his stomach and he was still alive."
Weavers explained that she couldn't recall the details of the crime scene as her focus was her son. She said while three males ran past her at the crime scene she had no recollection of who they are.
She added: "I was not in a state to observe everything. The police arrived and told the people to stand back. The ambulance came to check if he was still alive but he already died."
Responding to questions about her son's gang affiliations, she told the court that he was acquainted with the Six Bobs gang.
Weavers said while she did not see his tjappies for herself, she was told that he had a Six Bobs tjappie on his arm.
The mom said: "I don't know why he was killed but at the time there was a gang fight between the Six Bobs, the Dog Pounds and the Mongrels."
The trial continues next month.
Padayachee was busted by the Hawks in February 2021 and at the time of his arrest it was revealed that cops seized 17 illegal firearms in George which were in transit from Johannesburg.
Further investigations revealed that those firearms were allegedly destined for Cape Town gangs.
A further 44 firearms were seized from his business during the investigation process.
LINKS: Suhail Mohamed, 34, aka Mr Zulu
Image: Supplied