Yet another son of notorious self-confessed East London drug lord Livingstone Napoleon was gunned down in Fynbos, Buffalo Flats, on Monday, taking to six the number of family members shot dead since May 2021.
Benjamin “Bassie” Napoleon, 50, was declared dead on arrival at hospital. He was shot numerous times shortly after 5pm at Henry Meine Street, police confirmed on Tuesday.
The alleged culprits, who were seen by eyewitnesses chatting to him moments before the shooting, fled on foot towards the nearby Douglas Smith Highway.
The motive is not yet known.
Police spokesperson Captain Hazel Mqala said they were investigating a case of murder.
“On Monday, at about 5.30pm, the victim came around the corner on foot with two unknown males into Henry Meine Street.
“He was talking to them and then turned around and walked away. It is then that he was shot numerous times in his upper body,” she said.
“He was rushed to a nearby hospital by his family members, but was declared dead on arrival.”
A close relative said he did not believe the shooting was drug- or gang-related.
Livingstone Napoleon’s other son, Gibraltar “Bolte” Davis, was gunned down execution-style while driving in Parkridge in May 2021.
Police at the time said that the shooting was believed to be drug-related.
Bolte was reportedly passing Isaiah 58 in Parkridge when shots were fired at his vehicle from behind.
Several R5 or AK47 empty cartridges were found at the scene and more than R18,000 was found in his bullet-riddled car.
His other brother, Marvellous Napoleon, was shot dead while in his car outside his home in Parkside in September 2024.
He was with a female companion who sustained minor injuries when he drove into a church wall after being shot.
Bolte’s son, Dominique, was gunned down outside a pub in Vincent in March 2025.
On Tuesday, a close relative, who did not want to be identified, said the rest of the family now feared for their lives and were in hiding.
“It looks like these people are out to wipe out our entire family, but we do not believe that Bassie’s killing was drug- or gang-related as he was, unlike the other brothers, very naughty, a drug user and in and out of jail for various serious crimes,” the relative said.
Daily Dispatch
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