Gang Culture The Power & Betrayal of Gangsterism

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WORDS Scott Roder

The Hard Livings, The Clever Kids, Thug Life, The Americans and The Junky Funky Kids… the list goes on. These names, as infamous as they are comical, have become ingrained in the vocabulary of almost every Capetonian, regardless of social economic status, colour or creed. It is no wonder this pernicious integration has occurred; with over 130 gangs in the Cape Flats area alone and membership in the hundreds of thousands, the effect of gang culture pervades the lives of many.

Whether picking up the remote and turning on the news, or taking a drive through township areas, evidence of gang life – in the form of audacious daylight drug deals, colourful gang graffiti dotting the quaint walls of unkempt, and kempt houses alike, along with the frequent punctuation of gunfire on otherwise tranquil summer days – is all too prevalent in the communities of the Cape Flats.

So what is it that causes this social scourge? Is it poor parenting? Perhaps the lack of social programmes and education? Or maybe it’s the glorification of the gang life in contemporary rap music that we are accustomed to? The reason and perpetuity behind gangs is a conglomerate of infinitely complex social and economic issues. We can, however, begin our search in the birthplace of many of Cape Town’s most notorious gangs.

Known as ‘the dumping ground of apartheid’ the Cape Flats has, right from the start, created the perfect climate of discontent and contempt, both values inherent in gangs. This is no surprise considering any resemblance of a cohesive family unit was generally destroyed by the previous government’s relocation scheme, this coupled with an extreme lack of opportunity, and you have – very understandably – derisive young people who, in many cases, were made to feel they were inferior.

Faced with few opportunities and financial hardship, gangs can be very appealing for young children. Photo: David Lurie/Cape Town Fringe

Why

Under certain circumstances, such as those created in the time of apartheid and indeed many that still echo today, it is possible to understand the appeal of gangs. Money in times of financial hardship, camaraderie for those without a stable family, popularity for those who yearn for status, the feeling of wanting to belong to something bigger than oneself; all perfectly rational and noble pursuits characteristic of any human being.

So why do these perfectly reasonable human yearnings, under the right circumstances, morph into nefarious activity often culminating in death or gratuitous violence? The answer, unfortunately, is not simple. The lucrative drug trade, in conjunction with the influence of older gang members who are perhaps desensitised to the transgressions of murder and assault, are no doubt catalysts for younger gang members, eager to please, to accept the decree of their superiors as right and just. This provides a dangerous army of sorts that operates on an obsequious and twisted sense of morality and honour; where rape is considered acceptable and murder is seen as an honourable task that increases ones standing among the gang. One who is not familiar with gang life cannot begin to fathom the sophisticated and deeply-rooted culture of the gangs, so who better to shed light on the subject other than an ex-gang member?

Grassroots movement

Dowayne, a reserved yet amicable man living in a ‘safe house’, has seen and been party to things that most men would cower at – myself included – it is truly remarkable that a man of Dowayne’s circumstances holds no rancorous sentiment.

Born and raised in Manenberg, 22 years later he is an expert on the community that has dominated the news and plagued the conscience of political officials trying to bring an end to the bloodshed. Born to parents belonging to a gang, Dowayne was not allowed to see other members of his family; he had solely his guardians – drug dealers for a prominent gang which I will not name – for guidance. It is no wonder he embraced gangs and one of their hottest commodities, drugs. When asked if he feared for his family’s safety due to their involvement in unscrupulous activities, he casually replied that it is just normal for him, he took part in the drug dealing, slinging heroine and tik (a methamphetamine) to get by.

The slippery slope

Dowayne started his gang life with innocuous intentions, wishing to attain something that every young man wishes to possess: camaraderie. He was 13 and he and his oldest friends formed a club of sorts called ‘The Cool Cats’. Starting with school yard fights with other groups of kids who had elected to give themselves a name, the descent into gang life was fast. Dowayne professed his desire ‘to upgrade and start hanging around with guns’.

It did not take long until the notions of money, status and all the other superficial accessories that gangs possess, sucked him into the vicious cycle. ‘I would see how these older guys lived and think that it was good because my mentality was you must have a car, you must have gold chains on, you must have gold rings on, they had it all and I thought I must have that too.’

Known as ‘the dumping ground of apartheid’ the Cape Flats has, right from the start, created the perfect climate of discontent and contempt, both values inherent in gangs.

When asked whether or not he thought contemporary rap was an impetus of sorts for younger kids to join gangs, Dowayne answers with an unequivocal ‘yes’. He goes on to describe how The Hard Livings embrace Tupac’s lyrics glorifying the gangster life even integrating famous rappers ideals into the fabric of the gang. This acts as an ostensible recruiting tool, for when younger kids see their favourite lyrics and favourite rappers embodied and embraced by older boys in their community, coveted membership to their social circles is only logical.

Eventually other friends, one of them a hitman, belonging to the vast criminal syndicate The Hard Livings started working in conjunction with their smaller group. This provided their group with easy access to guns and drugs, along with an alliance with a venerable group in the gang community. With all of the new-found pleasures of the flesh so easily obtainable, Dowayne conceded ‘that’s how life started to be, and that’s who I thought I was.’

With over 130 gangs in the Cape Flats and membership in the hundreds of thousands, gangs are a ubiquitous detriment for young people and for society at large. Photo: David Lurie / Encounters at the Edge

Dowayne went on to express the rigid and surprisingly sophisticated hierarchy of The Hard Livings, describing their strict code of brotherhood and silence. These rules were not to be taken lightly, breaking one of these rules was punishable by severe beatings, or worse. He describes the method used by his gang, ‘We used to go onto a field, we would let you walk through a line with guys standing on each side and they would kick and hit you. After you must salute them to show you have no resentment.’ It is this strict code of discipline and organisation that no doubt allows gangs to be ruthlessly efficient when carrying out illicit activities. It ensures blind loyalty, to an extent that family bonds can be superseded with those of your gang mates. Dowayne, with a touch of melancholy, describes how he would get in heated verbal arguments with his family over belonging to a rival gang The Hard Livings. This is certainly not an uncommon situation considering the prevailing environment and general acceptance of gangs as part of life in these communities.

When I asked Dowayne about the prevalence of gang culture in Manenberg he describes many friends and mutual acquaintances he knows are still involved in gangs. When asked why they don’t leave the answer is clear, a combination of no job opportunities, the lucrative fruits of illegal activity and the simple inability to leave. He goes onto describe how once you are in the gang you cannot simply drop out or you will be considered a traitor, this no doubt, is a strong factor in the perpetuation of gangs, but not the strongest. Dowayne himself is proof that you can break out, as he now stays in a Recovery Centre and hopes he is protected in this safe house from his ex-gang members.

Criminality 101

Prison life is also extremely unpleasant and Cape Town prisons are, not surprisingly, very inhospitable.  Dowayne spent his time in prison as he ‘was in a lot of cases for assaulting people and other stuff’. The job description for gang members is simple, do what you’re told; this includes robbery, beating up enemies of the gang and even murdering them. So when one inevitably ends up in jail, the real trials begin. In prison, one must [italic] belong to a gang to avoid being repeatedly raped and confined to being a high ranking gang members ‘wife’ meaning you must perform sexual acts along with whatever other tasks they wish, such as laundry, or risk being beaten, bludgeoned or stabbed to death.

Dowayne recalls with sarcasm the words displayed outside Pollsmoor Maximum Security Prison: ‘A place of new beginnings’. Yes, irony at its finest. He proclaims it is in fact a place of new beginnings, although not in the sense that the authorities want. To compete in prison – survive even – you must belong to a gang, you must learn to become ‘more bad, more clever when stealing and manipulating’. This is what most men come away from prison learning, not useful skills to society, but to the gangs of which they belong. This conjures the idea of a ‘criminal college’ raising the question of whether or not prisons are an effective deterrent or rehabilitative institution. Perhaps if the government had the capacity to fund and teach useful skills, reduce overcrowding and separate gangs, prisons would then be at least semi-effective.

Fighting back

When studying these societal issues one must always look at the role of the state, for they represent us and protect us. Aside from the vast improvement of prisons what else could the state do to address this problem? A while back, Helen Zille advocated for the military to be called in to the townships and settlements because it appeared the police were not able to control the high levels of crime. However, many citizens asked how the military could conduct police operations against an essentially unseen enemy without infringing on basic and fundamental rights. It is a precarious situation easily circumvented if only the South African Police Service had the capacity to impose order, peace and security.

The gang called the Americans, stands for ‘Almight Equal Rights Is Coming And Not Standing’. Their motto is: ‘In God we trust, in money we believe.’ Photo: David Lurie / Cape Town Fringe

Not easily done when there is deep-rooted public mistrust of the police for colluding with gangsters. Dowayne is familiar with this. ‘There are a lot of cops who would give us information when they want to raid our house.’ Police on those particular beats would overhear wind of a planned raid and then inform the suspects. Sadly, this is not an uncommon allegation. He goes on to say ‘there are good cops who want to stop it but there are a lot of bad ones who just want to make money.’ When I asked the price of information from a police officer, he tells me ‘you give them what you think is best for them, my family would give him drugs but because he was an alcoholic they would give him drinks like beer and that.’ Shocking to think that these ‘professionals’ entrusted with our safety and upkeep of societal rules can be so easily bought off. It is truly infuriating to know that tax money pay the salaries of certain men who serve only to protect gangs and their operations for scarcely more than a case of beer.

With such bureaucracy, lethargy and endemic corruption it is no wonder that the gang plague has been allowed to subsist. Unfortunately, the ineffectual law and order led some community members, in their desperation, to create the vigilante group People Against Gansterism And Drugs (PAGAD). This group came to prominence between the mid-1990s and early 2000s but still exist today albeit not as militarised. PAGAD was a group of members from Cape coloured communities who, finally fed up with the deaths of community members in cross-fire between gangs, decided to come together and fight gangs in the literal sense. They put themselves on the radar by killing a well-known local gangster Rashaad Staggie. After a demonstration at his home in Salt River he was beaten and burnt to death. This among other vigilante acts made the government declare PAGAD a terrorist organisation. Clearly vigilantism does not compliment society’s laws or order and organisations such as these can be dangerous, however, in the face of unceasing violence and domination of community by gangs, the sentiment adopted by these people is, although not condonable, understandable.

NGOs

Sherwin Daniels, a lawyer at the Projects Abroad Human Rights Office, has dealt with cases involving gang members before; he has knowledge of a myriad of cases involving gang-related activity, such as aggravated break-ins. Often the break-ins are a result of orders from a superior gang member. He even describes the shocking contracting of children to commit crimes for superficial material such as branded clothing or shoes. ‘They promise the children these things and then they commit the crime, because obviously it’s easier to have a child carry illegal substances or items instead of an adult because the police will be more suspicious of an adult.’

When asked if he thought the incarceration of youngsters was valuable to their rehabilitation, he illustrates the importance of the programmes they are exposed to at youth centres such as Bonnytoun and Ottery. He concedes that the adult prisons need much improvement if they are to offer authentic rehabilitation programmes and often ‘if they come [to prison] not being a gangster they latch onto gangs to protect themselves.’ Daniels believes ‘usually the adults have already made up their mind’ so it is not often that a gangster leaves their lifestyle after attending social programmes or behavioural clinics.

This leaves very few options for prospective deserters – which is possibly one of the factors that perpetuate the maintenance and growth of gang members. Although purely conjecture, one would hope and assume that if state-sponsored programmes were in place (teaching useful skills, as well as guaranteeing safe relocation of ex-gang members) their ranks would dwindle; perhaps only slightly as many of them are addicted to drugs and the only way to sustain their habit is to continue to be involved with illegal activity.

There are many different social development programmes across the country, but I attended a workshop given by volunteers at the Project’s Abroad Social Justice Programme. Here, young inmates are given a presentation on various ways to better themselves, this coupled with games and one-on-one exchanges with volunteers surely helps repair a damaged psyche from years of mistreatment and neglect. Children need good role models, and any dialogue or activity with caring helpers is essential to maintain and foster growth.

It is a precarious situation easily circumvented if only the South African Police Service had the capacity to impose order, peace and security. Not easily done when there is deep-rooted public mistrust of the police for colluding with gangsters.

Young in Prison (YIP) is another NGO that helps disadvantaged youth. From their mission statement, it explains that ‘YIP fights for a safer South Africa by imparting life skills using arts and sports to youth at risk, empowering them to change behaviour to participate positively in society.’ They provide workshops with the hope of fostering expression, as well as offering role model relationships to aid them in reintegration into society for after they are released from prison. These are benevolent aims which are essential in helping children – frequently born into unfortunate circumstance and led down the wrong path – correct themselves to lead long fulfilling lives instead of being sucked back into the unforgiving vortex of gang life. Unfortunately, YIP could not be reached for comment.

A cautionary tale

The social scourge of gangs is old, entrenched and infinitely complicated. While state-sponsored programmes in which members are given more opportunity to leave the life may seem like an effective solution on paper, the reality is often much different and more sophisticated. Police corruption needs to be fervently routed out, task forces need to be properly established and social programmes have to be firmly in place. All of this would be a start, but it is not the solution. The problem with gangs is that they appeal to disadvantaged youngsters on such a visceral level, with pop culture and rap stars incorporated as an indirect recruiting tool. Too often for young people, the message of how to be a productive member of society is lost in translation due to an inability to relate to people who do not understand their situation or the life they have lived. This is why role models such a Dowayne will be essential in stopping this social ill.

In the beginning, Dowayne fooled himself by allowing himself to be bedazzled by the flashy jewellery and cars. But now he realises, ‘There is nothing good in it.’ I asked Dowayne what advice he would give to youngsters who are contemplating joining gangs for the very reasons he did. ‘I would encourage them to not fall for that enjoyment in the beginning. Because that’s all fake, they play with you, they tell you that they like you and they will die for you and that is all lies. From my experience they will run away from you, they will leave you in the gutters, they aren’t there for you.’

Dowayne is indeed a brave man and with stoic conviction in his eyes, he explains how he’s been trying to ‘get out’ for so long. This is his last chance. He will not mess up. Dowayne is a repaired man from a broken situation, and although he has a long way to go, he is one of the few who possessed the courage to do what is right and, against all odds, he has managed to persist with his goal for a new, better life.

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