PROJECT: GANGSTERISM IN GAUTENG AND KWAZULU-NATAL (PART 2)
- Isabel Spies
- Oct 16
- 6 min read
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While the Western Cape remains South Africa’s most notorious province for organised gang activity,
the provinces of Gauteng and KwaZulu-Natal (KZN) have witnessed a steady and dangerous
evolution of gangsterism over the past two decades.
These regions reflect different social and economic conditions but share common drivers: organised crime syndicates,
youth unemployment, drug and firearm proliferation, and systemic corruption within law enforcement.
Please read PART 1:
GAUTENG: THE ECONOMIC HUB AND CRIMINAL NEXUS
HISTORICAL AND STRUCTURAL CONTEXT:
Gauteng—South Africa’s most urbanised and economically powerful province—has long been the centre of both legitimate business and organised criminal enterprise.
During the late apartheid and early democratic transition periods, the province’s rapid urbanisation, migrant labour inflows, and economic disparities created conditions that facilitated the growth of street gangs, syndicates, and informal protection rackets.
Unlike the Western Cape’s community-based gang culture, Gauteng’s gangsterism has evolved into commercialised organised crime, often embedded within or overlapping with the formal sectors.
KEY ORGANISED CRIME STRUCTURES:
Soweto, Alexandra, and Westbury remain key flashpoints for gang-related conflict.
Groups such as the Fast Guns, Big Friends, and Clever Boys emerged in the 1990s and 2000s, often linked to drug distribution networks and extortion economies.
In Eldorado Park and Westbury, long-standing drug turf disputes between rival dealers have resulted in dozens of murders annually, drawing community protests and national media attention.
Construction Mafia groups, particularly in Johannesburg and Pretoria, have developed into powerful entities that extort contractors, demand “protection fees”, and use violence to control public infrastructure projects.
Foreign criminal syndicates, including Nigerian, Pakistani, and Mozambican networks, have also become prominent, particularly in drug trafficking, counterfeit goods, and cybercrime.
TRENDS AND STATISTICS (2023–2025):
According to SAPS Gauteng Provincial Statistics (2025), the province accounts for over 20% of national organised crime cases.
Drug-related arrests in Gauteng increased by approximately 18% between 2023 and 2024, with methamphetamine (“tik”) and heroin being the dominant substances.
Murder rates linked to gang or syndicate violence in areas such as Westbury, Eldorado Park, and Soshanguve rose by nearly 15% year-on-year, according to the Institute for Security Studies (ISS).
The province has also seen a rise in cross-border firearms trafficking, with syndicates sourcing weapons from Zimbabwe and Mozambique for resale in Johannesburg and Pretoria.
SOCIO-ECONOMIC AND INSTITUTIONAL IMPACT:
Gang-related violence in Gauteng fuels cycles of drug dependency, youth recruitment, and community intimidation. Local businesses in high-risk suburbs face ongoing extortion and racketeering, while informal traders often pay protection fees to avoid violent retaliation.
Additionally, corruption within the SAPS and municipal authorities undermines anti-gang efforts.
Multiple cases—such as those exposed by the Special Investigating Unit (SIU)—have revealed police officers renting confiscated firearms or tipping off drug lords before raids. These systemic weaknesses enable criminal economies to thrive despite periodic policing operations.
KWAZULU-NATAL: POLITICAL VIOLENCE MEETS ORGANISED CRIME
BACKGROUND AND EVOLUTION:
KwaZulu-Natal’s gang landscape differs from the Western Cape and Gauteng in that it merges political violence, taxi industry wars, and localised criminal networks.
Since the 1980s, the province has been shaped by inter-party conflict, tribal rivalries, and economic contestation, producing a volatile mix of political assassinations and organised crime.
In urban centres such as Durban, Umlazi, Inanda, and KwaMashu, gang structures have evolved around drug trafficking, extortion, and contract killings, with many operations linked to local political and business interests.
KEY ORGANISED STRUCTURES:
Drug gangs in Durban’s inner city—including the “Durban Underworld”—dominate narcotics distribution, human trafficking, and prostitution rings.
The taxi industry has become a parallel source of organised violence, with hit squads and assassination networks controlling routes and contracts.
Assassination-for-hire networks, often linked to corrupt municipal or business figures, have become a defining feature of KZN’s organised crime landscape.
Police investigations since 2018 have tied numerous killings to political office bearers, municipal procurement disputes, and control over construction tenders.
RECENT TRENDS AND DATA (2023–2025):
KwaZulu-Natal continues to record one of the highest murder rates in South Africa, with Inanda, Umlazi, and KwaMashu consistently ranking among the top five police precincts for homicide.
According to SAPS 2025 statistics, the province recorded over 1,700 murders between October and December 2024, many directly linked to drug turf wars, political killings, and extortion rackets.
A 2024 report by the Global Initiative Against Transnational Organised Crime (GI-TOC) identified KZN as a major trans-shipment hub for heroin moving from East Africa through Durban’s port into South African and international markets.
Intelligence reports further show a sharp increase in political assassinations, particularly targeting local councillors and municipal officials involved in tender disputes.
CAUSAL FACTORS AND ENABLING CONDITIONS:
POLITICAL PATRONAGE AND CORRUPTION:
Political interference and the use of state resources to fund hitmen have blurred the lines between criminality and governance.
ECONOMIC EXCLUSION AND YOUTH UNEMPLOYMENT:
With unemployment rates exceeding 40% among young men, many join gangs as both an income source and a social identity.
WEAK LAW ENFORCEMENT:
The SAPS Anti-Gang Units in KZN remain under-resourced, and corruption scandals within the provincial police command have undermined public confidence.
DRUG AND FIREARM PROLIFERATION:
Durban’s port acts as a key gateway for heroin, cocaine, and illegal firearms, strengthening organised networks with transnational links.
SOCIAL, ECONOMIC AND GOVERNANCE IMPACT:
The social impact of gangsterism in KwaZulu-Natal extends beyond murder statistics.
Communities in Durban’s townships and northern rural districts live under constant threat of intimidation and extortion.
Schools and small businesses frequently close during gang conflicts, while assassinations of political figures destabilise local governance and service delivery.
The economic toll is severe: according to municipal estimates, billions of rand in public infrastructure projects have been delayed or derailed by construction-related extortion and tender-linked killings.
Both Gauteng and KwaZulu-Natal reveal that gangsterism in South Africa is not confined to impoverished communities but is deeply intertwined with economic inequality, institutional decay, and organised criminal infiltration of legitimate sectors.
While the Western Cape’s gangs dominate through street-level violence and drug economies, Gauteng’s syndicates and KZN’s politically-linked hit networks show a broader national pattern of organised crime that adapts to regional conditions.
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