International Journal on Criminology Volume 3, Number 2, Fall 2015 | Page 80

Organized Crime Behind Bars
Today the Mexican Mafia, the archetype of a prison gang, is often seen as a gang in
itself, thanks to its grip on street gangs in general and its national and even international
influence.
A similar phenomenon can be observed elsewhere. When a new inmate arrives
in prison, the first question is always “who are you?” In the prisons of South Africa, he
answers that he is, for example, a “soldier” of the Gazi line of the 28s. 270
A new trend was observed in the late 1980s. Some new arrivals were hesitant in
their replies, their use of Sabela was questionable, and their knowledge of the Nongozola
myth was approximate at best—all indicating they were not “true” 28s, and probably
knew nothing about the organization.
The interrogation would continue as follows:
-“Where did you become a 28?
-Hawston - a small fishing village 100 km from Cape Town
-But there is no prison in Hawston, said the ndota (prison gang member).
-I was not recruited in prison, said the newcomer. I was recruited by the
Rooidakke. 271 I was given a job to shoot someone. They said that to get into the
Gazi line of the 28s, you have to shed blood. They said once I made the kill, I
would be a 28.” 272
The Ndota was baffled. Nothing so incongruous had been heard before in a
prison.
Why did the prison gangs begin to encroach on the street? There are several
hypotheses. Since the 1970s, there have always been informal and casual relationships
between prison gangs and street gangs. At that time, the latter extorted money from
neighborhood stores in exchange for protection, creamed off part of the income from
liquor stores, levied “transit” taxes on cabs crossing their territory, and mutilated anyone
who dared to work without their permission.
The two largest street gangs in Cape Town were the Scorpions and the Born Free
Kids. In prison, the Scorpions generally joined the 28s, 273 while the Born Free Kids joined
the 26s. 274 This was nonetheless only a superficial relationship. The walls separating the
prison from the streets were sacred, and it was inconceivable that the 26s or 28s would
be acting on the outside. In the same way, the Sabela language makes no distinction
between non-Number prison gangs (Big 5, Airforce etc.) and street gangs—they are all
part of the “fourth camp” 275 ; they do not exist, even their tattoos are called vuil papiere,
“dirty paper.”
270
The “Gold Line”. The 28s are subdivided into two parallel hierarchies, two “lines.” The Gold Line is
the “soldiers”—the men, and the Silver Line is the “wyfies”—the “women.”
271
Rooidakke —“Red Roofs.” A street gang known to the late 80s and early 90s.
272
Steinberg. Nongoloza's Children, 39–40.
273
A Scorpion would be made to approach the 28 “to extract the venom from its tail.”
274
277. The 26s and the Born Free Kids were chicos, “good looking, well dressed.”
275
See above.
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