The teenager out on bail for allegedly shooting dead his three-year-old neighbour Faeez Wesso is back behind bars.
|||The teenager out on bail for shooting dead a toddler is back behind bars.
This time Rameez Thomas has been arrested in connection with the fatal shooting of 20-year-old Moeneeb Jacobs.
The 18-year-old Thomas was picked up by cops at his Manenberg home on Wednesday morning.
And he is expected to appear in the Wynberg Magistrates’ Court on Friday where he will once again apply for bail.
Moeneeb was shot a week ago on his way home from a soccer field.
Witnesses claim they saw Thomas hand a firearm to a youngster, thought to be no older than 13 years old, who allegedly opened fire on Moeneeb.
Moeneeb’s family tell the Daily Voice a gang member opened fire on him the day before as well but he escaped unharmed.
But after Wednesday’s shooting the young father-to-be succumbed to his injuries and died on Monday.
Thomas is believed to be part of the Hard Livings gang who have called Manenberg their stronghold for more than two decades.
Police say he has HL tattoos on his body, showing his allegiance to the notorious gang.
Thomas became one of the Flats’ most hated men when he was released on R2 000 bail in March following the shooting of his three-year-old neighbour Faeez Wesso on March 7.
Thomas admitted that he pointed a gun at the toddler but that his intention was not to kill.
He says he was merely trying to scare the boy’s mother into telling him whether she had told cops to raid a known gang den he frequented.
He claimed the gun went off by accident hitting the boy in the head.
The murder weapon has never been found.
This week, Moeneeb’s devastated mom Galiema Alkana told the Daily Voice her son was killed because he refused to join the Hard Livings gang.
Galiema says Thomas chased after her son and threatened him moments before he was shot.
She tells the Daily Voice she heard Thomas shout: “Vir hom moet ons kry (We have to get him).”
Thomas was expected to hand himself over at Manenberg Police Station at 2pm on Wednesday.
But instead the teen was picked up by cops at his house hours earlier.
His attorney Bruce Hendricks showed up at the cop shop around noon, shortly followed by Thomas’ family.
“He was going to come to the station at 2pm but he was arrested at home this morning before he could hand himself in,” says Hendricks.
“I don’t know why police went to get him at home.”
He said he hoped to get his client out and sort out “the misunderstanding”.
But a short while later the attorney left the station without his client.
“He will appear in court on Friday,” he confirms.
“The State is going to oppose bail but we have already prepared our paperwork (for bail application).”
By late on Wednesday, Hendricks said his client had not been formerly charged but he expected him to face a murder rap after initially saying it will be a charge of an accessory to murder.
“He hasn’t been charged yet because police are looking for a second suspect,” he says.
Meanwhile, a relative of Moeneeb says he is pleased with the arrest.
The man, who didn’t want to be named, says Thomas should never have been released on bail for Faeez’s shooting.
“How many more people must die before they keep him in?” he asks.
“For years (Moeneeb) fought against the Hard Livings and Americans gangs because he didn’t want to join.”
The relative says that Moeneeb was physically strong and never allowed gangsters to scare him.
“For years he fought against them,” he insists.
“He didn’t want to be a gangster and look where that got him.
“But I believe the cause he died for is justified.
“There are so many other kids who give in to the gangsters and ruin their lives,” he adds.
“I’m glad police went to arrest (Thomas) because he was only going to hand himself him in so that the courts could be lenient.”
Police spokesperson Lieutenant Ian Bennett confirmed the arrest.
“Police arrested an 18-year-old in connection with the murder,” he says.
“He handed the firearm to the (shooter).
“The gun hasn’t been retrieved yet and police are still looking for the shooter.”
* This article was published in the Daily Voice