Former Americans gang boss Kaldimola ‘Dimes’ Madatt died in a hail of bullets on Sunday around 12:45 pm in Monsoon Road in Rocklands. The gunmen carrying out the alleged hit shot Madatt 11 times.  

He was 56 years old.

Police have since confirmed the motive for the incident was gang-related. Madatt is the brother of convicted drug dealer and diamond smuggler Moegamat Sadaka Madatt — an alleged American gang boss.

A source speaking on condition of anonymity told Daily Maverick the hit on Madatt was an inside job. According to the source, Madatt purportedly received a tip-off that he was to be the target of an attack.

The warning appeared to be of little consequence. The occupants of several cars pulled up in Monsoon Street on Sunday and opened fire indiscriminately, fatally wounding Madatt and injuring his bodyguard. The perpetrators then fled the scene and remain at large.

Cape Town anti-crime activist Roegchanda Pascoe alleged to Daily Maverick that shortly after the murder of Madatt information surfaced that it had been an inside job. 

“Reliable information we received is that Americans gang members from Manenberg and Hanover Park are in Rocklands. They are looking for the gunmen.

“The murder of Dimes comes at the time when our children are writing exams. I feel sorry for the people and learners in Rocklands. What activists have seen in the past in similar hits is that it is all war out in that specific area. Our fear is that learners or innocent mothers could be killed or wounded during the gun battles,” she said.

There is a pattern in gang circles, she added, that older gang leaders become targets of young and upcoming gang members. 

According to Pascoe, young men joining and climbing the gangland ranks, are often educated and business-orientated and operate differently from long-standing senior gang members. 

Are our numbers up? Cape Town’s 26, 27 and 28s gangs up the ante by becoming tech-savvy

Visit Daily Maverick’s home page for more news, analysis and investigations

A Rocklands crime activist speaking on condition of anonymity said the murder of Madatt and similar gang-related shootings serve as a deliberate distraction for police, at a time when large drug shipments are anticipated.

“The purpose of the chaos in Cape Town is to make sure that the Christmas and New Year’s big drug shipment destined for Cape Town reached the gang leaders. It is the big Christmas drug sale time for gang leaders and they will do everything, even taking out rivals and their own gang leaders to make sure they get their fair share,” he said.

A month ago Abdullah Boonzaaier, son of former Hard Livings gang boss Rashied Staggie, was gunned down in Manenberg while gambling in the street.

Meanwhile, anti-crime activist Yusuf Abramjee explains that crime usually spikes in the run-up to the festive season and that this year seems to be no exception.

“We are seeing dramatic increases in ATM bombings in Gauteng, cash-in-transit robberies in many parts of the country, we see gang violence escalating.

“The police usually launch their festive season campaign and it’s a good PR campaign but I think much more needs to be done. We know that police are trying their level best, they are hopelessly under-resourced but we need more proactive policing,” he said.

Police Minister Bheki Cele, Abramjee said, runs like a “headless chicken” from one crime spot to another one. What we need, he underlined, is for SAPS to break the backbone of syndicates. Abramjee cautioned that without a concrete response these murderous patterns will persist and crime will continue to escalate.

The Madatt incident occurred days after Cele launched SAPS’ nationwide safer festive operations under the theme “more boots on the ground towards enhanced police visibility” in Thohoyandou in Limpopo on Thursday.

Cops and Mobsters — the many murky claims of Western Cape police officers cosying up to gangsters

The campaign runs to the end of January 2023 and, according to Cele, aims is to mobilise maximum resources with the view of stamping the authority of the State to ensure that communities are safe and secure.

Commenting on the murder of Madatt, police spokesperson Warrant Officer Joseph Swartbooi said Mitchells Plain police responded to a complaint on Sunday 6 November 2022.

Upon arrival on Monsoon Road at around 12:45pm police found the body of a 56-year-old male who sustained multiple gunshot wounds. However, the victim was declared deceased on the scene by the medical personnel. 

Anyone with information is requested to call Crime Stop on 08600 10111. DM