Violence mars matric party

Brothers allegedly stabbed by gangsters on beachfront

AMATRIC after-party at the Port Elizabeth beachfront’s Lush Restobar ended in chaos when three suspected gangsters linked to the notorious northern areas Up Stand Dogs gang allegedly stabbed two brothers during a botched attempt to rob them.

Kurt November, 20, was stabbed nine times in the Dolphin’s Leap Entertainment Complex parking lot and is in a critical condition in Greenacres Hospital.

His brother, Darren, 22, who jumped in to help him, was hit over the head with a firearm and stabbed in the hand.

Both men had been partying with the matrics earlier.

The early morning attack yesterday came just hours after Justice Minister Jeff Radebe warned gangsters in the northern areas that their days were numbered. He was in the city for the official opening of the new Gelvandale court aimed at tackling gangsterism in the area.

Kurt’s father, Danny, who is a policeman, said yesterday: “My son was stabbed. I heard about it at 4am. We have reported it to the police.”

Lush Restobar owner Ricardo Blignaut, who also owns popular northern areas nightclub The Godfather, said he had seen a crowd of matric pupils near Nando’s when he went home at 3.30am.

“It was calm but busy. There were a lot of people but nothing had happened yet. There was no argument at that stage.”

Blignaut said one of his employees had told him about the stabbing yesterday afternoon. “That person saw it on Facebook. I am also trying to find out more.”

Lush Restobar was the venue for the St Thomas Senior Secondary matric afterparty. The actual matric dance was held at Running Waters in Kragga Kamma on Wednesday night.

According to police, the pupils left Running Waters at about 11pm. Some of them then went to the after-party.

The attack occurred at about 3.30am as they left the bar.

Although the versions of what actually transpired differed slightly, the incident was captured on CCTV cameras at the complex.

Humewood police station commander Brigadier Ronald Koll said the attack was triggered by an argument after the bar had closed.

He said the three suspects, who were linked to a gang in the northern areas, had been hanging around in the parking lot allegedly robbing people.

“It appears that a fight ensued and they attempted to attack or rob him [Kurt], prompting his brother who was sitting in a car in the car park to run to his aid.

“During the fight, Kurt was stabbed several times in the face and upper body while Darren was hit over the head with a firearm and stabbed once.”

A friend of Kurt’s, who did not want to be named, said Kurt had been attacked by gangsters who tried to rob him outside of the club.

“He fought back and was stabbed nine times, with one stab wound missing an artery by centimetres.

“His brother [Darren] jumped in to help fight off the troublemakers and was stabbed in the hand.”

The friend said the gangsters fled when a cousin of the Novembers, who was also at the after-party, went to their assistance.

The friend said Kurt had lost a lot of blood but was in a stable condition in the intensive care unit.

Another girl, who also did not want to be named, said: “There were guys chilling and drinking outside Lush who did not attend St Thomas. They said someone stole their alcohol, and then started getting aggressive with some of the people in the vicinity.

“Apparently, they started taking stuff from people to make up for their missing alcohol and a fight broke out.”

Koll said patrolling Humewood police heard screams as they drove past the complex and stopped to investigate. “They found a group of people standing around and recognised two of the men as known members of the Up Stand Dogs. They confronted the men after witnesses identified them as being involved with two robberies earlier that evening and the stabbing.

“The men started to swear at the officers and attempted to fight with them. They were then arrested and taken to the police station.”

The third man, who is believed to have had the firearm, is on the loose.

Koll said the case had been handed over to the gang task team for investigation.

“It is clear that the gangsters are trying to disrupt normal people’s way of life. We intend to oppose bail in this case.”

St Thomas school principal Gregory Appollis could not be reached for comment.

An employee at the Dolphin Leap complex, who did not want to be named for fear of victimisation, said there had been a noticeable increase in alleged gangsters visiting the complex over the past two months.