Kon Wel and Ayom Thuch allowed contact at soccer, charged with Nairobi bar affray
Teammates charged with a violent brawl between feuding gangs – which led to a fatal stabbing – had a lucky break after they were told they could train together but not speak.
North & North East
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Two teenagers allegedly involved in a feuding gang brawl, which escalated to a fatal stabbing a month later, will be allowed to play soccer together.
Kon Mayen Wel, 18, and Ayom Mabior Thuch, 19, had a lucky break with a new magistrate, after they were originally told they could train together but not speak.
Andrew Graham, for Mr Wel, asked the Adelaide Magistrates Court on Friday to vary the non-contact clause for the duo as they both play for Brahma Lodge Soccer Club.
A prosecutor said they were opposed to removing the clause.
“Mr Wel and Mr Thuch are on bail for a very large affray … where approximately six people were stabbed,” the prosecutor said.
“It relates to an ongoing gang rivalry.”
Police were called to the Nairobi bar on Grenfell St just after 1am on March 13 to find several people had been stabbed or assaulted with weapons including a machete.
“At this stage I’m not suggesting Mr Wel’s involvement but there were multiple people injured and then those same members of the gang were then involved … where ultimately someone was stabbed and killed,” the prosecutor said.
Victorian man Ngor Bol, 25, was killed in a knife fight in the early hours on April 25.
SA Police allege violent members of a “street gang” with African heritage flew to Adelaide from Melbourne and Sydney just days before the fatal “stabbing and stomping”.
Major Crime Investigation Branch Detective Superintendent Des Bray said police would allege the incident was linked to two feuding gangs, 051 and KBS.
Mr Thuch, of Andrews Farm, was charged with carrying an offensive weapon after the fatal stabbing but it is not alleged Mr Wel, of Elizabeth Downs, was involved.
Police first started targeting the two gangs when their interactions became violent last June.
In July, Operation Meld was quietly launched with five officers in an effort to quell not just their violence, but their criminal activities that largely revolve around frauds, deceptions, minor robberies and some drug trafficking.
In the Adelaide Magistrates Court on Friday, Magistrate Brett Dixon said he would only allow contact at games but not training.
“They can still train together without speaking to each other,” he said.
Mr Graham said it would be very difficult for the men to train that way.
“No matter what you say about his background, and what a great bloke he is and a fantastic soccer player and a pillar of the community, he is charged with extremely serious offences involving a number of other people, one of whom is the person that he wants to contact,” Mr Dixon said.
Mr Graham also asked to delete the condition that Mr Wel not be allowed to attend the CBD.
After hearing Magistrate Simon Smart had been handling that condition, Mr Dixon said he could take over the bail variation application.
“You might do better with Mr Smart,” he said.
The duo did indeed get more lucky with Mr Smart, who granted the men permission to be in contact at training and games.
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