From Ninevite to Comtsotsi: Township gangs, divided communities and urban violence in twentieth century South Africa

Abstract

Despite the unprecedented level of public concern with violent crime in the "new South Africa", surprisingly little effort has been made to explore the historical roots of urban gangsterism. Since their establishment, the segregated black residential areas commonly referred to as townships have proved a fertile breeding ground for criminal gangs. Moving beyond the standard approaches which characterise gangs as either social bandits or destructive predators, this paper suggests that gang/community relations were fluid and ambiguous and that to understand why gangs have been (and remain) such a prevalent presence in the townships we need to appreciate the fragmented nature of township society and the ways in which gangs reflected, exploited and exacerbated urban fault lines. Finally, a comparison between criminal violence on the Rand in the 1940-1980 period and the more recent political conflict between supporters of the ANC and Inkatha will attempt to demonstrate how divided communities are vulnerable to gang violence.