Biker War in Pretoria? Who Is Telling the Real Story?
Is there a biker war in Pretoria? This is an update on the shooting at the Little Britain Pub in Waterkloof, where a member of the MAC’S Motorcycle Club was killed on 10 October 2026. But it is not only an update on where the case is. It is also my view on where information comes from.
After my last video, some of you told me I had not done my research. I am not there to do research. I am here to tell a story from the information that is available. A creator such as myself cannot be blamed for using information from the media when that is the only source available. If that information is wrong, and there is no other source with a correcting or challenging narrative, I cannot be expected to go on a hunting trip for hours to find the truth.
I do not build stories on social media titbits, and I do not use short WhatsApp messages, which are often out of context. People send me videos of assaults and photos of men with bruises, and the story changes depending on who sent the message. I tell a short story every day. I do not have the resources to make documentaries that take weeks of research.
So if you are a member of the public or a member of a club and you have the full story, I am willing to read it. Send it to me through my website, and I will answer your email.
What has changed since my last video
On Saturday 10 October 2026, one shot at the Little Britain Pub in Waterkloof, Pretoria, killed Baden Watson, a member of the MAC’S Motorcycle Club, and wounded a second member. On Tuesday 13 October, Brian Wesley Smith, 45, appeared in the Pretoria Magistrate’s Court on charges of murder and attempted murder (Nuusflits; The Citizen). The police link him to the Crusaders (Rekord).
Three things in my last video have to be corrected, because the record has changed.
First, I said the accused was 55. That figure came from the police. He is 45. Nuusflits and Rekord report the same, and Marizka Coetzer, the reporter at The Citizen, corrected it in the comments under my video. Second, he appeared in court for the first time on Tuesday 13 October, not on the Monday.
The third correction is bigger. In my last video I said there was no evidence that the argument had anything to do with the clubs. On 13 October, Nuusflits reported the state’s version.
“Volgens die staat het Watson en die ander man Smith by die ingang genader en hom gevra om die kroeg te verlaat omdat hy aan ’n ander motorfietsklub behoort het.”
Nuusflits, 13 October 2026. In English: according to the state, Watson and the other man approached Smith at the entrance and asked him to leave the pub because he belonged to another motorcycle club.
Nuusflits reports that Smith then allegedly drew a firearm and shot both men before he fled, and that he handed himself over to the police early the next morning. That differs from the first reports: on 11 October, News24 reported that he was tracked down and arrested.
The state will oppose bail. News24‘s headline says the court heard he has a lengthy police profile, and The Citizen reports that previous charges against him were placed on record. His bail application is set down for Tuesday 20 October.
So the question is no longer whether this had anything to do with the clubs. On the state’s own version, his club is the reason two men walked up to him at the door. What is not on record yet is what happened in the seconds after that.
What are people sending me?
I have been sent many photos and video clips of incidents, but often without the full story or context. A photo or a single video alone, without a back story, does not tell me what happened. Some of what people sent me after my last video had already been posted online by one side, with a call to share it far and wide. Some of the clips are from 2024.
There is a difference between a short message and a long exchange. One man has given me a detailed account over several days, with context, and with material that backs up parts of it. He describes months of members of one club targeting the other. It is the fullest version I have. It also comes from one side, and I am not giving the details, because they would identify him.
One version going around says the accused was badly beaten by members of the other club months before the shooting, and photos of his injuries are being shared. Several readers and viewers have said the same. On 13 October, Marizka Coetzer, the reporter at The Citizen, posted a video on social media about those photos.
“While many always say there’s three sides to a story, I put it to you, did Brian attack a Mac who was sitting on his bike, liberty him and threw him off his bike before he was beat up? Did Brian start the fight?”
Marizka Coetzer, video, 13 October 2026
So the same photos are being used to tell two opposite stories. One side says he was the victim. The reporter asks whether he started it. I am not going to pick one. The court will hear his bail application on 20 October, and that is where it can start to be tested.
The fear is on both sides. The man who gave me that account believes his life would be in danger if I named him. Marizka Coetzer’s report in The Citizen on 14 October quotes a family friend of the wounded man who asked to stay anonymous, for fear of being targeted. When the people closest to a story are afraid to put their names to what they know, the public gets the version of whoever is willing to talk. And on the record, neither club has commented.
Is The Citizen biased?
Some of the people who contacted me say The Citizen’s reporting favours the MAC’S. Some of what they say about the reporter is personal. Nobody has given me anything to back it up, so I am not repeating it. But because a number of you have told me you do not trust her reporting, I treat what she reports as her account. Where I can, I check it against other outlets, and where I cannot, I tell you it comes from her.
What I can show you is what was published. On the night of the shooting, Marizka Coetzer wrote a public post about a biker war, and the MAC’S page shared it. When I checked on 12 October, that share was the only thing the club had posted about the shooting. Her report on 14 October carries the family friend of the wounded man, condolences for Watson, and a call for peace from the biker association Sapa Yopa. The Crusaders’ side is not in it.
But the report says that neither club has commented, and under the Press Code, that is what a reporter must say when one side does not respond.
“… if unable to obtain comment, this shall be stated.”
Press Council of South Africa, Press Code (2022), clause 1.8
And a week before his bail hearing, she asked her followers on social media whether the accused started the earlier fight. She put it as a question. In my view, that is the kind of question you expect from social media, not from the reporter covering the case. Does that prove she is biased? No. But from the outside, the public cannot tell whether The Citizen is leaning towards one club, or whether the other club is simply not talking. Only the clubs can change that, by putting their side on record.
Why believe a journalist over social media?
Many of you have asked me this. A journalist is a person like you and me. So why is a newspaper story believed, while a post from someone who was close to it is dismissed as just social media?
A journalist is not a better person, and is not always right. The difference is what happens when they are wrong. The story carries a name and a publication, and under the Press Code, rumour must be labelled as rumour and mistakes must be corrected promptly. If they get it wrong, you can complain to the Press Ombud, or go to court.
A post on social media can come from someone much closer to the story. But it often has no name on it, nobody checks it, nobody can make the writer correct it, and it usually comes from someone who is on one side. A video of a fight shows you that there was a fight. It does not show you who started it, or why. And the public cannot be expected to dig through club pages and private groups to find the full story.
I am not a journalist either. The difference between me and an anonymous post is that my name is on this video, and when I get something wrong, I say so, as I did three times above.
Is there a biker war in Pretoria?
In my last article I said that on the record, there was not. The record has changed.
In June 2025, each club told the Sunday Times that the other came armed to a sports bar in Montana, Pretoria. A man from the MAC’S side claimed the Crusaders carried automatic rifles. The Crusaders’ national president, Mark Groenewald, claimed MAC’S members had pistols in their belts. In the same article, Groenewald said this.
“There are no real issues between our members on the ground. The dispute is between our two national tables.”
Mark Groenewald, Crusaders national president, to the Sunday Times, June 2025
On the state’s version of 10 October 2026, two members on the ground told a man to leave a pub because he belonged to the other club. Whether you call that a war or a feud, it is no longer only between two national tables. How far it goes, only the clubs know, and neither has said a word on the record.
So to the clubs, and to every rider who has told me the media has it wrong: telling me there is a bigger story does not change the story. Until someone tells it on the record, the newspaper version is the only version, and it is the one people will still find in ten years. If you have the full story, my website is open.
And to everyone else: the most liked comment under my last video said it is safer to sit at home. I understand that. But most riders on the road have nothing to do with this. Let the court judge the man accused of firing that shot, and do not judge the next rider at your local pub by his patch.
On Tuesday 20 October, Smith applies for bail, and a version of that night may finally be put on record by someone other than the state and the newspapers. If there is significant news from that hearing, I will make an update video.
My first video and article on this story: Biker War in Pretoria? One Dead After Waterkloof Pub Shooting.
Sources
- Nuusflits, Wanda Olivier, “Man in hof ná noodlottige skietery by Waterkloof-kroeg”, 13 October 2026: nuusflits.com
- The Citizen, Marizka Coetzer, “Pretoria biker shooting accused appears in court”, 14 October 2026: citizen.co.za
- Rekord, Corné van Zyl, “Pretoria pub shooting: Accused appears in court as slain biker identified”, 13 October 2026: citizen.co.za/rekord
- News24, Alex Mitchley, “Crusaders biker accused of killing MAC’S member has ‘lengthy police profile’, court hears”, 13 October 2026: news24.com
- News24, Lisalee Solomons, “Little Britain Pub says no: Biker club patches banned after fatal shooting at Pretoria venue”, 11 October 2026: news24.com
- Sunday Times, Hendrik Hancke, “Bikers to court after k-word kerfuffle”, 15 June 2025: sundaytimes.timeslive.co.za
- Press Council of South Africa, Press Code of Ethics and Conduct (2022): presscouncil.org.za
- Marizka Coetzer, video, 13 October 2026
