Trapped by loyalty, bound by blood: The gangster code in South Africa

JOHANNESBURG - Charlton Africa, a member of the Mongrels gang in Hanover Park, southwest of Cape Town, slowly rolls up his sleeve showing a bullet wound on his right wrist.

His eyes continuously scour the battlefield.

The streets he roams with his crew, in an area considered one of the many "red zones" in the Western Cape, are constantly monitored due to its high crime rate.

"It’s now a gang war. They shot me here at the terminus when I came from court. And they’ve shot a few of our guys dead now.

"Anytime is teatime, so we must always be alert."

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Between October and December 2024, the Western Cape saw its deadliest quarter on record for gang-related killings - 263 people were murdered.

At the age of 17, Africa joined the Mongrels gang, wanting more for his life.

"It is the lifestyle we live here in Hanover Park.

"When you are younger, you see how the gangsters, like the merchants (drug dealers), operate. Your mindset is telling you you can also become one of these guys and you can also have your own gang and be a leader and things like that. But now that I am a gangster, I see things way differently. It’s not like that and it's also not how I saw it when I wasn’t one."

In Manenberg, another gang member, who spoke on condition of anonymity, talks about how they are practically born into gangsterism.

"That’s how you grow up here. It starts with throwing stones, after that you stab, after stabbing you shoot and after that you must join a gang."

In many instances, the youth are victims of gang violence, subjected to witnessing the atrocities that come with it - being used by gang members as pawns to move drugs and guns.

STOLEN YOUTH
 
For 12-year-old Tiyah Wilson, growing up in gang-ridden Wentworth, south of Durban, is sometimes too much to bear.

"So, for me killing myself... I feel it for my mother, my father and all my close friends. But I think killing myself is going to solve something. It's me going to a better place, not staying here in Wentworth, where there is violence. you can't even play outside."

Initially apprehensive to admit, Tiyah says her father is involved in gang-related activities in Wentworth.

At her young age, she has already witnessed two of her uncles and her cousin killed in gang-related violence.

In Westbury, west of Johannesburg, a gang war which dates back decades continues to wage on, claiming countless lives.

A turf war between the Fast Guns and the Varados is among one of the oldest and brutal gang feuds in the country.

Despite interventions by the police’s anti-gang unit, residents believe there will never be a day when peace is restored to Westbury.

Speaking to EWN anonymously, a man who has been a member of the Fast Guns gang in Westbury for two decades talks about his journey of becoming a feared killer.

"I was 15-years-old when I committed my first murder. Obviously, somebody tried to take my corner. I had to defend my corner. I got myself a firearm, protected my corner, and did my first kill.

He says gangs start recruiting children from around 12-years-old.

"We start recruiting them for the lookouts and to deliver.

"If I need to send a gun from one area to another area, I'll send one of the small boys."

LETTERS FROM THE GRAVE
 
Tanya Kelmovitz, 52, continues to question what could have been after the death of her son Shannon Baggott, 24, who was shot and killed last year while walking on an open field in Westbury.
 
In his early teens, Shannon excelled at ballroom dancing and was being hailed as a natural talent.

"There were even judges approaching him asking, ‘Can we take you? You need to go to Disneyland, Blackpool,’ places like that where ballroom dancers are. Within a few years, he went from basic to semi-professional. He could have gone all over with this ballroom.

"It would have taken him in a different direction."

But it wasn’t meant to be, as Shannon would get caught up with the wrong crowd.

Tanya now relives his death through letters she found after he was laid to rest.
 
"After the funeral, we found letters that he wrote. He apologised in the letters. He gave one to his sisters. He wrote for his sisters, he wrote to the church, and he wrote to his friends."

"Sorry, sorry for all the mistakes I made and I chose. I know that you are angry with me, but what can I do if people want to end my life? I know I did many things wrong, but I'm trying to change step by step. But if I don't make it, tell Shezzi, Taigon and Shakey, I’m sorry for not being the brother they wanted and Shaylyn for not being the uncle she needed." (One of three letters written by Shannon Baggott and dated 07/03/24 - three months before he was murdered).

Every year more than 200 people are killed in gang-related shootings across South Africa. The majority of these murders take place in the Western Cape – specifically the Cape Flats.
 
In the first half of 2024, 58 children died from gunshot wounds in the Western Cape alone.

Between October and December 2024, the Western Cape saw its deadliest quarter on record for gang-related killings - 263 people were murdered.