Reiger Park reels after three murders
Territorial markings of the Sour Boys group, a group of young men that claim they do not advocate violence but rather hang out together as they share the same interests. Picture: Timothy Bernard Territorial markings of the Sour Boys group, a group of young men that claim they do not advocate violence but rather hang out together as they share the same interests. Picture: Timothy Bernard
The sun had set in Reiger Park, but the streets were full. Cars were parked on pavements and down the road, their occupants gravitating towards the sound of the preacher’s voice.
“We’ve lost a father, a brother, a friend,” he said. “We pray for our community tonight.”
The service for Anthony “Tuks” Williams was just one of three memorial services that night, all murder victims. The pastor could have been speaking for any one of them.
Gavin Adams, 39, a father of two and married, was shot in Meadowdale last Wednesday while dropping his wife off at work.
Johnny “Piet Skiet” Jacobs, 47, a father of 15 and also married, was shot while sitting in his car parked outside his girlfriend’s house last Thursday.
Williams, 34, was a father of three, a Pretoria man living in Joburg and engaged to marry a Reiger Park girl. He was shot on Sunday as he was driving home from a weekend visit.
Since then, the media have been rife with talk of gangs. About Dougens and Sour Boyz. About drugs and territory.
Reiger Park residents are sick of it. “All our children are being branded nationally as gangsters,” said an angry resident at a recent community meeting. “Three people are shot and suddenly everyone is a gangster.”
Still, they couldn’t deny the gang element. First there were the Lions and Tigers – the original gangs of Reiger Park.
“This is nothing,” said one resident. “Back then, if someone had a beef with you, they’d come up to you, grab you by your buckle and poke you. Now, they just drive by with a gun.”
The Lions and Tigers faded away, to be replaced by the Vorsters, the Sour Boyz, the Dougens, the Serpents, Family Boys, Fire Boys, Terribles…
The police and pastors banded together, initiating community peace talks. It worked. For years.
Now, the Dougens are middle-aged men with big laughs and easy smiles. You always find them in the same place.
Every gang has its spot. They weren’t a gang, they said. Just a social group.
Jacobs was neither Sour Boyz nor Dougens.
So when the media began blaming the gangs for the murders, nobody believed it. “It’s like there’s a third force,” said one Sour Boy. “Those who shot Gavin are now sitting back, letting the Sours and Dougens take the blame.”
Across town, about 200 people gathered to remember Adams, cramming into a garage.
He will be buried tomorrow after a service at St Anthony’s church, right after a service for Jacobs at the same church.
During the Williams service, the Dougens parked in their usual spot on the pavement, listening to the preacher crying: “Enough! This has to be a turning point for Reiger Park.”
“Amen.” - The Star