Gang member whose dad was killed at rugby game loses his own life to gang violence

The devastating impact of intergenerational gang violence is being felt by an eastern Bay of Plenty whānau, who have just buried a loved one in the same grave as his father. Tony Wall reports.

At the beginning of Matahi Valley Rd in Waimana, 26km southeast of Whakatāne on the northern edge of Te Urewera, there is a small family urupā.

One of the graves marks the resting place of Claude Takao​, who died when he was shot in the face with a shotgun at close range at a rugby league match not far from here in 1993.

Now, there are fresh flowers on the grave, because Claude’s son, also named Claude but known as Mana, has been buried in the same plot. Both were Mongrel Mob members.

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Mana Takao’s body was found down a bank further along Matahi Valley Rd on June 1. Police put out a statement saying they had launched a homicide inquiry, but gave no other details.

Takao’s family told the Stuff he went missing three days before his body was found, and they’d been searching for him.

In an angry and emotional Facebook post on May 31, one of Takao’s daughters wrote: “Where the f… is my dad, Mana Takao?

“My Dad has been missing too long and hasn’t been in contact!!! Some mutts took him and I want my Dad back you ugly f….. c….!!!!”

The same day, Takao’s partner, Janie Roberts, posted: “Mana Takao, we miss u, we need u, and hope that u are safe. Come back to us please.”

She said it had been a hard night, but the family was trying to stay calm and patient.

Takao’s sister, Hemotu Takao, known as Natasha, told the Stuff a cousin eventually found his body down a bank.

“You could just see him from the road, but you had to be searching for him to find him.”

Natasha Takao says it appears some men turned up at her brother’s partner’s place at night when everyone was asleep, and took him.

“Without a peep he would have went, to keep his family safe,” she says. They didn’t realise he was missing until later.

“It’s just torn us apart really, you can’t trust nobody. My brother is innocent, and the wrong man was taken, definitely. It’s ripped our hearts.”

Police would not comment on any alleged gang links, with a spokesperson saying “while the investigation is underway we’re unable to provide further details, as they may be material to the investigation”.

They referred to a brief statement issued on June 7, saying two men, aged 32 and 25, had been charged with two counts of kidnapping and one of aggravated robbery.

Police won’t say if further charges are pending.

Natasha Takao says the family haven’t been told a cause of death, but Mana, who was 47, had suffered multiple injuries.

The death had brought back horrific memories of what happened to her father at the Waimana league grounds on Anzac Day, 1993.

According to newspaper archives, Claude Takao, 37, was the aggressor, going up to a vanload of rival Black Power members and smashing the windows, attacking the van with a hammer and fighting with one of the occupants.

One of the men, Dean Tuhoe Kohunui​, 29, grabbed a gun he had taken to the match for “protection” and fired what his defence counsel said was a “warning shot”. It hit Takao in the face, and he died at the scene.

Kohunui was initially charged with murder but pleaded guilty to manslaughter and was jailed for eight years.

“It’s crazy that it’s hit us again, after 30 years,” Natasha says. She was 12 when her dad died.

“It’s not nice having a brother taken in practically the same way.”

She says Mana was the father of 11 children to two women, and they were everything to him. He’d take them to play rugby on Saturdays.

He was a qualified scuba diver and would provide kaimoana for the whole valley. He was only a small man but had “lungs for miles” and was also an accomplished free diver.

He was also an expert with the taiaha and used to run kiwifruit work gangs, Natasha Takao says.

She says the whole of Waimana Valley and the wider Tūhoe nation is in mourning for a man who was known for his patience, politeness and humility.

“He was loving and fun – he loved to drink and to party, he was always the life of the party, really. He was very unique.”

In another social media post at the weekend, one of Takao’s children scotched rumours that their father had died because of drug debts.

“My father died for someone else’s … shit,” they wrote.

The post said Takao fought “till the f….. bitter end”.

The urupā where Takao is buried is visible from the yard of his mother’s property, where he was living up until his death.

“It’s quite special that he’s there – his children will pass him on the way to school every day.”