Alleged kingpin shot dead outside George shopping mall

Police are investigating the murder of alleged underworld kingpin Mark Lifman, who was killed by a hail of bullets at a shopping center in George on Sunday.

The shooting around 11:30 a.m. caused a storm flutter about who might be behind the murder of a man who was at the center of many underground disputes.

According to a Daily Voice source, the killers were armed with assault rifles and opened fire in broad daylight at the Garden Route Mall as Lifman walked through the parking lot to his bakkie with a double cab.

The source says: “They were driving a white VW Golf with cloned license plates. He was walking, they approached him and shot about five Scots, and he died on the spot.

“They fled and the police learned about the license plate and started following the vehicle. That’s when they caught two white men in Uniondale.

“It is unclear at this stage whether more people were involved, but Lifman was not surrounded by any security guards at the time of his death.”

One of Lifman’s closest friends, Jerome “Donkie” Booysen, said the shooting left him embarrassed.

An emotional Booysen tells the Daily Voice: “I really can’t talk.

“I know he plays golf at George, but he would never go out on his own. I’m not sure why he didn’t have bodyguards.

Police spokesman Colonel Andre Traut confirmed the murder and said: “Western Cape SAPS responded at approximately 11.30am this morning to the Garden Route Mall in George where a shooting occurred, where a 57-year-old man was killed by unknown assailants, who fled the scene. ”

The police have not yet confirmed whether any arrests have been made.

Lifman, a controversial millionaire businessman from Fresnaye, was due to return to the Western Cape High Court today, where he and Booysen face a number of charges, including murder.

In December 2020, the duo was arrested along with murdered 27s gang leader William “Red” Stevens for the 2017 murder of “Steroid King” Brian Wainstein.

Two months later, before the trial began, Stevens was shot dead near his home in Kraaifontein.

According to Mr and Mrs Booysen’s case, his brother Colin, Lifman and Andre Naude formed a “brotherhood” focused on nightclub security in Cape Town.

It states that in May 2016, a fight broke out between Colin and another person at the Coco Bar, with Colin complaining that his own brother had brought in 27s gang members who were causing problems.

The split was apparently brokered by Naude, with Colin leaving the brotherhood and allegedly joining Nafiz Modack.

The documents show that Colin and Modack began taking over clubs from Lifman and Jerome, which led to a fierce rivalry.

That same year, Lifman was in conflict with Wainstein over real estate and investments.

In July 2017, there was an unsuccessful attempt to murder the alleged leader of the 28s gang, Ralph Stanfield, who was an alleged associate of Wainstein.

The state maintains that Wainstein believed Lifman was behind the botched hit and planned to murder one of his bodyguards in retaliation.

Meanwhile, last week Lifman received a draft order from the High Court ordering the seizure of a Green Point property owned by former Beerhouse owner Randolf Jorberg as part of an ongoing defamation claim for R1 million.

Lifman sued Jorberg for linking him to various crimes, such as the 2015 murder of Jorberg’s doorman on social media.