Five years after taking the witness stand in a murder that sealed the fate of a notorious gangster, activist Roegshanda Pascoe said she had one regret – her children paying for her choices.
Pascoe has gone public, saying she had not received any support from the government or police structures after she became the key witness in 2016, when she and Manenberg residents had watched in horror as Angelo Davids, 26, an alleged member of the Hard Livings gang, was brutally attacked and died later in hospital.
Pascoe braved becoming a witness when others refused. In March 2019, a gunman opened fire on her home when her entire family were inside, a day before she was set to testify.
She and her family were moved to a safe location by Global Initiative Against Transnational Organised Crime, who had secured accommodation for them. But in the next month, Pascoe and her family will be coming out of their “so-called” witness protection and have nowhere to go.
They live at a secret location and her daughter is now also completing her final year of school.
Last month, a friend of Pascoe’s, Melanie Rutgers, began a Back-a-Buddy campaign and appeal for her, with a target of R200 000 and has raised more than R5 000.
The appeal is to secure a deposit for a plot of land where Pascoe and her family can relocate rather than return to Manenberg.
“The only regret I have is my children paying, I look at my children and my grandchildren and I cannot face them at times,” she said.
“I was told by the investigating officer that I must fill out forms for the application for witness protection and that we had to wait for approval.
“It was while I was waiting for approval and during my period of testimony that I was forced to find my own way.”
Pascoe said her son had been a key witness in the hit on her life and that direct messages were being sent that they were coming for her.
A gunman had emptied his magazine on the house while the inhabitants slept but Pascoe was not home.
“My son came face to face with the shooter as he began opening fire,” she said.
“That morning after the shooting the NPA (National Prosecuting Authority) said they were not aware that I needed protection.
“But it is only with the hand of God’s protection over us that we found
a safe place for survival.”
Pascoe received the US Secretary of the State’s International Woman of Courage award last year for her bravery and fighting crimes against women and children.
Mogamat Faeez Hendricks, leader of the Clever Kids, received 25 years behind bars while Naeem Benjamin was sentenced to 20 years following her testimony.
Both men appealed
their convictions and were released in November 2021.
Benjamin, the man who allegedly orchestrated the hit on her, died in a gang shooting in Manenberg last year.
Pascoe said that as her term of protection and haven came to an end, she had reached out to many people, among them the police oversight and community safety MEC, Reagan Allen.
Allen said they were grateful to Pascoe for taking the witness stand and making the sacrifices she did: “We certainly need more Ms Pascoes in our areas that are ridden with crime.
“We are fully aware that working with law enforcement agencies in these areas is not easy, but I encourage all citizens to continue assisting all law enforcement agencies with information, as this is the only way we will be able to effectively combat crime levels. We sincerely empathise with Ms Pascoe.”
Allen said he noted that Pascoe’s children were on the City’s housing waiting list, to which Pascoe said there was an indefinite waiting period. He said the witness protection programme followed particular prescripts.
“Witness protection is a voluntary programme; you can’t be forced to join it. You can apply for witness protection for yourself or on behalf of someone who is a witness.
“If a person has any queries that you want to direct to the Witness Protection Unit itself, you should contact the head office of the Witness Protection Unit, which is in Pretoria and forms part of the National Prosecuting Authority of South Africa.”
Eric Ntabazalila of the NPA said its offices had no records of Pascoe being part of the witness protection programme.