Five alleged Hard Livings gang members accused of murdering a 29-year-old woman because she was believed to be an informant for a rival gang are heading to the Western Cape High Court.
Denver Paulse, Shaheem van Schalkwyk, Zubair Moses, Nizaam Ceaser and Logan Bloys are accused of killing Khuselwa “Coco” Ntshangase in Manenberg in March 2025 before allegedly placing her body in a wheelie bin, dumping it near a canal and attempting to set it alight.
The State alleges Ntshangase was killed because she was suspected of supplying information to the rival Fancy Boys gang.
The five men now face charges of aiding and abetting criminal gang activity, conspiracy to commit murder, murder and defeating or obstructing the administration of justice.
According to the State’s case, a witness is expected to testify that Moses allegedly instructed the others to kill Ntshangase because she was believed to be an informant for the Fancy Boys.
Ntshangase was allegedly assaulted inside a Manenberg house before a rope was placed around her neck.
Image: Supplied
The State alleges Ceaser and Bloys stood on opposite sides of a bed and took turns pulling on the rope while Ntshangase was assaulted.
Van Schalkwyk and Bloys allegedly later left the house and returned with a wheelie bin.
Ntshangase’s body was then allegedly placed inside the bin, concealed with dirt and clothing and taken to an area near a canal, where the accused allegedly attempted to set the bin alight.
Her body was discovered at about 7am on March 6, 2025.
A post-mortem examination found her death to be unnatural and consistent with ligature strangulation.
The State is also expected to rely on forensic evidence during the High Court trial.
Following his arrest, Paulse allegedly pointed police to a rope that had been dumped in the front yard of a property in Hurricane Road, Manenberg.
Forensic testing later allegedly detected Ntshangase’s epithelial cells on the rope.
The prosecution alleges all five men were members of the Hard Livings gang, which it says operates in and around Manenberg.
The gang-related charge accuses them of aiding and abetting criminal activity for the benefit of the Hard Livings.
The State alternatively alleges they caused or contributed to a pattern of criminal gang activity, or incited and encouraged participation in such criminal activity.
The High Court papers describe crimes associated with the gang as including murder, attempted murder, robbery with aggravating circumstances, illegal possession and use of firearms and other acts of violence.
On the conspiracy charge, the State alleges the men unlawfully incited or commanded members of the Hard Livings gang to assault and kill Ntshangase.
Prosecutors further allege that the murder was planned or premeditated and that the accused acted together in common purpose or as part of a conspiracy.
If convicted of premeditated murder, the accused could face life imprisonment, unless the court finds substantial and compelling circumstances justifying a lesser sentence.
An additional aggravating factor relating to a domestic relationship is alleged against Paulse.
Ntshangase’s killing drew anguish from her family when the accused first appeared in the Athlone Magistrate’s Court last year.
Previous Cape Argus reporting identified Ntshangase as a Gugulethu woman known to her loved ones as “Coco”.
Her father, Mbuyiselo, previously pleaded for those accused of killing his daughter to remain behind bars, saying his family wanted justice for her death.
“Nobody deserves to die like that,” he said at the time.
Police investigations following the discovery of Ntshangase’s body eventually led investigators to a property in Manenberg where she was believed to have been before her death.
The arrests followed and the case initially moved through the Athlone Magistrate’s Court.
By April last year, all five accused had abandoned their applications for bail and remained behind bars while investigations continued.
At the Western Cape High Court the State is expected to lead evidence about the alleged gang motive, Ntshangase’s final hours, the forensic evidence and the alleged attempt to conceal her body.
