PROJECT: GANGSTERISM IN THE EASTERN CAPE AND EMERGING GANG NETWORKS IN SMALLER PROVINCES (PART 3)
- Isabel Spies
- 12 minutes ago
- 6 min read
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Although public attention has long focused on gangsterism in the Western Cape, Gauteng, and KwaZulu-Natal,
recent evidence shows a marked geographic expansion of organised crime into provinces
such as the Eastern Cape, Free State, Northern Cape, and North West.
This shift reflects a diffusion effect: as policing operations intensify in major metros, gang structures migrate, fragment,
or form alliances with local criminal groups. Combined with endemic poverty, youth unemployment, weak local governance, and porous firearm flows, these regions have become fertile ground for new and evolving gang economies.
Please read our previous 2 projects on the subject of Gangsterism in South Africa:
THE EASTERN CAPE: FROM RURAL POVERTY TO URBAN GANG CONTROL
HISTORICAL AND SOCIO-ECONOMIC CONTEXT:
The Eastern Cape, South Africa’s second-largest province by area, has long struggled with economic stagnation, unemployment, and youth disillusionment.
Deep inequalities between rural areas and growing urban nodes like Gqeberha (Port Elizabeth), Mthatha, and East London have created spaces of vulnerability similar to those in the Western Cape’s Cape Flats.
Over the past decade, the province has transitioned from sporadic localised gangs to well-structured, violent criminal networks operating across multiple towns and townships.
These gangs are often interlinked with drug trafficking, extortion, and violent intimidation.
KEY HOTSPOTS AND GANGS:
Nelson Mandela Bay Metro (Gqeberha and surrounding areas) has become the epicentre of gang activity in the Eastern Cape.
Neighbourhoods such as Gelvandale, Bethelsdorp, and Helenvale experience persistent shootings, extortion, and turf wars between groups like the Dustlifes, Spotbouers, Upstand Dogs, and Boomshakas.
Many of these gangs maintain connections with Western Cape syndicates, particularly the 26s and 28s prison networks, importing both structure and culture.
In Mthatha and East London, organised robbery and contract killing syndicates have emerged, some tied to tender manipulation, municipal corruption, and construction extortion rackets.
TRENDS AND STATISTICS (2023–2025):
The Eastern Cape recorded over 1,600 murders between October and December 2024, ranking second nationally after KwaZulu-Natal, according to SAPS 2025 statistics.
In Nelson Mandela Bay, police attribute more than 60% of murders in certain precincts (notably Gelvandale and Bethelsdorp) to gang-related shootings.
Investigations have uncovered sophisticated drug distribution routes linking Gqeberha to Cape Town, Bloemfontein, and Durban, as well as smuggling networks operating through Port Elizabeth harbour.
The province has also seen a surge in youth gang recruitment, with children as young as 12–14 years old being used as drug couriers and lookouts.
CAUSES:
SOCIO-ECONOMIC COLLAPSE:
Unemployment exceeds 45% among youth, driving recruitment into gang structures that promise income and belonging.
WEAK POLICING INFRASTRUCTURE:
The province has some of the lowest police-to-population ratios in South Africa, with critical shortages in forensic and intelligence units.
URBANISATION AND MIGRATION:
Rapid movement from rural areas to cities like Gqeberha has outpaced urban planning, creating overcrowded informal settlements vulnerable to gang influence.
DRUG ECONOMY EXPANSION:
Tik, mandrax, and heroin markets have exploded, with distribution dominated by local gangs tied to Cape-based suppliers.
SMALLER PROVINCES: THE EMERGING GANG FRONTLINE
Gangsterism is no longer confined to metropolitan areas. The Free State, Northern Cape, and North West have
all reported rising organised crime activity, often linked to interprovincial trafficking, extortion, and illegal mining (“zama-zamas”).
FREE STATE: FROM DRUG CORRIDORS TO ORGANISED NETWORKS
Historically less affected by gangsterism, the Free State has seen a rise in drug-related crime and youth gang formation since 2020.
Towns such as Welkom, Bloemfontein, Botshabelo, and Thaba Nchu have developed loose gang structures involved in drug sales, armed robberies, and informal extortion.
The province sits on a major trafficking corridor linking Gauteng to Lesotho and the Eastern Cape, making it a strategic hub for methamphetamine and mandrax smuggling.
The Welkom goldfields have also drawn illegal mining syndicates, some backed by local gangs who control access, protect zama-zama operations, and trade in stolen gold ore.
Police intelligence reports highlight cross-border cooperation between Free State and Lesotho gangs in smuggling firearms, contraband, and human trafficking victims.
NORTHERN CAPE: BORDER SYNDICATES AND EMERGING TOWN GANGS
The Northern Cape, South Africa’s largest but least populated province, has become increasingly exposed to cross-border criminal activity due to its proximity to Namibia and Botswana.
Towns such as Upington, Kimberley, and Kuruman have reported the rise of youth gangs involved in vehicle theft, alcohol smuggling, and drug trafficking.
Kimberley, in particular, has seen escalating street violence linked to gangs such as the Upington Boys and Terrible Jacks, who have begun emulating the prison-based 26s and 28s culture.
The Northern Cape’s vast geography and limited policing create enforcement challenges, allowing rural syndicates to transport contraband and firearms with minimal interception.
NORTH WEST: MINING AND MAFIA-STYLE VIOLENCE
In the North West Province, gangsterism intersects with illegal mining, construction site extortion, and tender-related violence.
The province hosts extensive platinum and chrome mining operations, many targeted by zama-zama syndicates supported by armed criminal groups.
These gangs engage in turf wars over control of mining shafts, extortion of foreign labourers, and smuggling of refined ore.
Police investigations since 2023 have also revealed connections between illegal mining gangs and metropolitan crime networks operating out of Johannesburg and Rustenburg.
In some districts, gangs have expanded their operations into extortion of local businesses, protection rackets, and even local political intimidation.
REGIONAL PATTERNS AND NATIONAL IMPLICATIONS:
Across all provinces examined, several cross-cutting themes emerge:
INTERPROVINCIAL MOBILITY:
Gangs from Cape Town and Gauteng are actively spreading to smaller towns, using migration, trade routes, and familial ties.
ECONOMIC DESPERATION:
Chronic joblessness and inequality make young men especially vulnerable to recruitment.
INSTITUTIONAL WEAKNESSES:
Under-resourced police units, corruption, and poor coordination between provincial and national structures hamper prevention and prosecution.
CRIMINAL DIVERSIFICATION:
Gangs are increasingly involved in construction extortion, illegal mining, counterfeit goods, cybercrime, and political manipulation, demonstrating a shift from street crime to systemic organised crime.
SOCIAL AND ECONOMIC CONSEQUENCES:
The spread of gangsterism into smaller provinces has far-reaching implications:
Community safety and development are compromised as violence becomes normalised in towns previously considered low-risk.
Schools and local businesses suffer from extortion, reducing investment and driving skilled residents away.
Municipal governance is increasingly destabilised by intimidation of councillors, officials, and contractors.
In many rural areas, social cohesion is collapsing, as fear replaces trust and vigilantism begins to emerge as a community response.
The expansion of gangsterism into the Eastern Cape, Free State, Northern Cape, and North West
confirms that South Africa’s gang crisis is no longer regional—it is national and systemic.
The combination of poverty, weak governance, and entrenched criminal economies has allowed gangs
to entrench themselves in both urban and rural environments.
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