Strict rules govern life of a gangster

ANY flashpoint township area has between three and five gangs operating in a space of a few square kilometres which is divided into territories consisting of a few streets where drugs are sold, goods are smuggled, recruitment via coercion is done, spying networks are run and hits are planned.

An area like Manenberg is only 3.35km in size, with an estimated population of 56 301. Supposedly random shootings are often not accidental at all but a sign from one gang to another and to the police that it has enough ammunition to keep out rivals.

In Manenberg, statistics show 123 murders occurred in 2015/2016 with one in two gang-related.

Residents live in fear, but for gangs shooting is a marketing tool, business being conducted.

Giving evidence on the number gangs in 2015 in a Port Elizabeth High Court civil matter brought by two St Albans Prison inmates against the minister of justice and correctional services, Western Cape gang specialist Major General Jeremy Vearey said territory was inviolable.

“Prison gangs regard the space they physically occupy in a cell or section as their land in the same way as a nation would regard its country.

“In this regard, any viola- tion of that space is deemed a serious enough offence to warrant violent reaction.”

He said invasion of space was considered an insult to their “military capacity” to defend themselves. An invasion by authority figures like the warders, their “natural enemy”, was a “land invasion”.

He said non-gang member inmates were told what they could or couldn’t do while passing through gang territory.

Vearey said killings were sanctioned by the leader, who issued directives on where and how they would take place. Logs were kept on transgressions, while strict protocol was followed when it came to negotiating with other leaders.