An eclipse on vicious gangs
A HORRIFYING dark ‘smoke’ that has been billowing over Kitwe carrying along a resurgent spirit of gangsters, is sloZl\ fi]]linJ oXt in Pan\ locations.
/aw enforcement officers have been smoking out the dangerous youths from their hideouts, after a fairly long and unfettered reign of terror.
5esidents are getting relief after police action, belated though.
<es, the mere mention of 7okota %oys, sons of the devil, Niggas, 0alinso, .oswe, %uchi %oys, 0bwambwamb- wa, gang or ba ]aale, %oko +aram and .atondo sends a mi[ture of feelings drama and horror.
Drama because the gang names and their e[istence are reminiscent of gang movies, such as hit, C7he :arriorsC starring a charismatic leader who summons the street gangs of New <ork in a bid to take over but was dramatically killed.
+orrifying because in real life, residents are evidently being pummelled and maimed by the gangsters that had taken .itwe by storm.
,n many areas, residents would meekly retreat to their habitats after their daily chores as the dark is about to set in.
,n fact, the gangs had in the past five years or so been simmering but boiling sporadically and retreating to their comfort ]ones each time alarm is raised.
,solated attacks that were uniformly waged on residents were ignored, but the hue and cry from members of the public has now grown louder after wanton incursions in the communities.
7his is the sad state of affairs in .itwe.
7he dastard scenario came to a head recently when the coun- try was treated to a horrifying video footage that went viral on social media, showing a bloodied year old boy being bludgeoned by the deadly 7okota %oys in the fringes of 0ulenga 7ownship.
$pparently, the boy was sei]ed and bundled into a Noah vehicle to a secluded area where they battered him using stones, fan belts and metal obMects.
7he gangsters, about in number, forced the boy to masturbate as they cheered and later ordered him to eat his own e[creta.
7he episode put the wind up. $fterwards, a startling revelation came to the fore when &opperbelt &ommissioner of police &harity .atanga emerged on air announcing to the nation that a sergeant had been arrested for his links and aiding the notorious gangs in their activities.
7he boys were rounded up and in the course of interrogations information emerged that, in fact, the network was wider and included a musical rap group.
*angsterism in .itwe is no common criminality, but usually starts as underground terrorism and grows out to the surface after e[panding in network, encompassing outcast law enforcement officers.
7his time around, rap musicians were reported to have been part of the loop.
,ndeed, a group of rap musicians was implicated by the 7okota %oys while the use of the Noah vehicle in their day light incursions smacks of e[istence of a wider network whose real mission needs to be laid bare.
<es, this is a resurgent of the dark past that reared its ugly face in the late through to the s and partly in the s. <esteryearCs gangs in .itwe included the Dark &ity, 6hock )amily, %lack %rothers, %lack 9illage, 6harp %ullets, %antu 6i[, *old 0ine, %iafra %oys and %uchi %oys. 7hey were deadly
7heir reign of terror was more pronounced in &himwemwe, 0indolo, .amitondo, .wacha, %uchi and &hamboli.
During this period Ndola, too, had some skirmishes mostly restricted to 0asala 7ownship which had the 0asala 6tars %oys and the µ6eka Uponoke.’
$cross the .afubu river in &hipulukusu township, was a den of gangs and other outcasts. 7his is the more reason the area has been renamed 0apalo.
+owever, this type of crime was mostly in .itwe Must as the case is now.
(lsewhere in 6outh $frica, gangs are more prominent in &ape 7own, stemming from the effects of the repressive apartheid system.
,t is believed that the dark past of racial segregation and restriction has left a permanent imprint on the 5ainbow Nation.
$ccording to an online publication, ranker.com, rise of gangs in 6outh $frica can be traced to the *roup $reas $ct of , which displaced blacks and condemned them to designated regions.
)orced into overcrowded townships, the population was driven to in fighting and eventually splintered into gangs.
(ver since, there has been an increase in gangs which, in
, was estimated at , gang members in the :estern &ape province.
7here are marginalised groups that resort to brutalising people while engaging in substance and alcohol abuse. 7here are a number of them:
The Numbers Gang
7his is believed to be the most notorious criminal organisation which was founded in the late
s, when two men fought against inhumane conditions in the mine they were working in.
&urrently, the group is particularly aggressive in the 6outh $frican correctional services system, and specialises in robbery and smuggling goods into the prison. ,t is divided in age groups with the s being the blood component.
7o Moin them, one must stab a guard or warden while the s are violent se[ual offenders who must assault another male inmate in order to Moin up.
The Hard Livings
7he +ard /ivings are considered to be the second biggest gang in &ape 7own and was founded in . 7hey are mostly active in the drug trade.
The Firm
7he )irm is known mostly for running the drug trade in 0an- dra[, operating shebeens, and bars without licenses. Mongrels
0ongrels are ranked si[ on the list of C7he 0ost %rutal and 9iolent *angsC ,n 6outh $frica and one of the oldest gangs in &ape 7own.
7he 0ongrels are known for their drug running and shebeen operations. 7hey are believed to be unfriendly and do not tolerate rivals intruding their space and are ready to pull the trigger.
)rom many perspectives, causes of gangsterim in any part of the world have been interpreted variously.
One factor which stands out in many discourses is peer pressure.
7eenagers are very much inÀuenced by the acquaintances they interact with their character is Àuid and are likely to be moulded in line with what is happening around them.
7hey have the urge to do something new without giving much thought to the effects, whether wrong or right.
&hallenges from peer groups will drive them into engaging in activities that were hitherto frightening to them. 7heirs is to prove that they are brave hearts and they tend to discuss their
challenges openly with their friends rather than with the family.
,n =ambia, the youngsters have even coined a now common phrase “:hat are friends for ´ as they feel only their friends would appreciate their innermost feelings.
,n the process, they end up sharing their challenges and feelings with already spoiled children some from broken homes, who ill advise them. 7hey keep such feelings away from their parents.
7hus thirsty for wrong doing builds up in their soul, the spirit starts tilting towards evil while their bodies and general outlook will start taking repulsive shape ± this includes funny hair cuts and rough dressing.
+owever, teenagers from a conducive environment, well cultured and with &hristian temperament do keep a distance. &hildren from a scattered background would more likely enMoy mischief and feel relieved.
6ocial media also has a negative inÀuence, which is two prone ± one positive while the other negative.
7he negative inÀuence of social media that has links to gangsterism includes lack of face to face communication. 7eenagers get drowned in social media because of its interactive nature and they end up alienating themselves from parental guidance.
7hey are able to get to sites of violent nature and others that have se[ually pervasive images.
,t is also true that the e[cessive use of social media or internet leads to abandonment of family as devices become their only friend and family. 7hey spend much time browsing and their human nature as well as perception changes, sometime to that of violence.
Perhaps, moral decay in society is the evilest in teenagers because their personality and moral consciousness are Must developing.
7hey may resort to alcohol and substance abuse and become banded together, eventually developing into full blown gangs.
,n the .itwe scenario, the recent police raid came in the th hour, long after residents had been making passionate appeals to clamp down on rising cases of gangsterism.
President (dgar /ungu had to come in and made a directive, through his 6pecial $ssistant for Press and Public 5elation $mos &handa, to the police to wide out gangsters.
,n the ensuing operations, the marauding youths were smoked out and hauled to various police stations in the city.
$s they were being taken to court, business in the city came to a standstill as residents Meered at the gangsters in the infamous C.asalangaC vehicle.
7here was a heavy presence of police in the &entral %usiness District up the subordinate court premises, which were filled to the brim with curious residents who wanted to have a glimpse of the notorious boys.
News of two members of the notorious gangs being sent to
Mail, sent .itwe residents in Mubilation. 7he two were slapped with five years imprisonment with hard for labour for assault.
,n passing the verdict, &hief 5esident 0agistrate <vonne Nalomba said the sentences should serve as a warning to other gangs.
7he two are the first to be convicted since the notorious gangs resurfaced while otTherhs,ear-Zambia rested in other incidents, are still remanded in custody awfaiitrinmgtso be committed to the .itwe +igh
&ourt on three serious charges, including kidnapping.
ofctahen
(liMah 6ika]we, , Niggas gang also referred to as Cba =aale, C received the custodial sentence for beating 5ichard &hilembo on 0ay , this year until he became unconscious and was only resuscitated at the .itwe 7eaching +ospital.
7he court heard that (liMah mercilessly beat 0r &hilembo whom he accused of belonging to the rival C7okota %oysC gang.
,n the same court, 0artin .onde, , a member of the Niggas gang was also sentenced to five years with hard labour on two counts of assault.
On 0ay , this year he assaulted .elvin 0ubanga, a member of the security neighbourhood watch group in 0ulenga township.
0artin, in the company of other Niggas members, confronted 0r 0ubanga and accused him of having apprehended a member of their gang.
7hey descended on the victim at a bar accusing him of disturbing their gang activities.
7his week, nine of the notorious boys of the C NiggasC gang appeared before .itwe magistrate /eonard 7embo for ,dle and disorderly conduct. 7he nine are on bail while four are in remand because they have failed to meet bail conditions.
0ore gang members are in remand including 7okota %oys while more are being sought for various violent offences.
7he clamp down is relieving though it has come too late.
7here is urgent need to inculcate a sense of responsibility and &hristian values in the children right in the homes. )amily values are vital.
/earning institutions and the &hurch have an important role to play to mould the children into responsible citi]ens.
Parents must make it a point to conduct daily devotion sessions with their children and all dependants.
7he word of *od is rich and refreshing it is all encompassing. Parents must love their children wholeheartedly and demonstrate to them the real love as this promotes obedience and the true spirit of oneness and family values.
(phesians chapter verse says, “)athers do not provoke your children to anger, but bring them up in the discipline and instruction of the /ord.´
Parents must counsel their children through the word of *od and demonstrate by word and deed that indeed they themselves are believers and servants of the $lmighty /ord.
,n the same book of (phesians chapter verse , children are instructed to obey their parents.
7he scripture says, “&hildren, obey your parents because you belong to the /ord, for this is the right thing to do.´
,f indeed households proceeded in this manner, gangsters and other criminals will be eliminated in earnest.
=ambia is set on the path of an ambitious development through critical sectors of the economy this requires steadfast support from all citi]ens.
&riminals such as gangsters are only working to retard progress achieved thus far, hence the need to wipe out all misfits from public circulation.
/aw enforcement officers must remain vigilant and proactive as opposed to reacting when crime reaches the peak.
7he e[perience of the menacing gangs is a sad state of affairs which has certainly left a negative imprint on the =ambia Police 6ervice.
7he gangs have been brutalising innocent residents for more than five years, growing in numbers and stature.
,ndeed, an eclipse has dawned on the gangs, belated though.