FROM THE COURTS: Four men whose reign of terror resulted in the death of seven people in Clarke Estate, received lengthy sentences in the Western Cape High Court.

The Western Cape Provincial Police Commissioner, Lieutenant General Sizakhele Dyantyi, meanwhile welcomed the sentencing of Alfonzo Hendricks (33), Aubrey Rooi (32), Jade Taylor (26) and Roderick Daniel (22) on Wednesday, 7 October 2026.

The quartet was arrested in 2020, following a series of gang-related murders in Clark Estate from December 2019 until February 2020. 

During the spate of shootings, a total of seven victims, two of which were women, llost their lives. One of their shootings resulted in a triple murder. 

The cases were assigned to Detective Sergeant Theo Van Wyk of the Elsies River  police, who quickly made a breakthrough and arrested the four accused. They remained in custody for the duration of the trial, after bail was successfully opposed.

After a lengthy trial, the accused were convicted of seven murders, robbery aggravated and firearm related offences. The first three accused were sentenced to several life terms and , accused number four will serve 36 years in prison.

Dyantyi lauded the investigating officer as well as the prosecuting team. 

“The sentencing comes at a crucial time when the Western Cape province grapples with mass shootings, thereby sending a strong message to perpetrators that criminality will not go unpunished and any violent crime will be met with the full might of the law.”