In response to a DA question in Parliament earlier this year, Police Minister Bheki Cele said that nearly 500,000 abalone and crayfish have been poached in the marine ecosystems of Gansbaai, Hangklip, Pringle Bay, Hawston, Kleinmond and Hermanus in the last five years.According to Dave Bryant, DA Shadow Minister of Environment, Forestry and Fisheries, these statistics only scratch the surface of the real numbers of poached abalone and crayfish.
The murder happened on 21 December 2021. Padayachee and his employee had been repairing his vehicle in front of the deceased’s residence in Kapokblom Street, Gansbaai, when Van der Berg approached them and opened fire. Padayachee’s two children and his employee were not injured. At the time of sentencing, NPA Western Cape spokesperson Eric Ntabazalila indicated that the prosecution would be arguing for a hefty sentence, contending that the killing of Padayachee was “premeditated and committed with direct intent… to teach him and other abalone poachers not to disobey orders, pay a certain percentage of their illegal abalone proceeds to a grouping, or suffer dire consequences.