Cape Town - At the tender age of 14, a teen who is now 18 had to be transferred to four different schools due to the violence as a result of him being a gang member.
He is one of hundreds of gangsters walking the corridors at schools across the Western Cape, carrying knives, toy guns, golf clubs and drugs.
Like many, he is desperate to be freed of his criminal choices but feels trapped.
According to the Western Cape Education Department (WCED), 32 gang-related incidents were reported this year, with no deaths between 2021 and 2022 on school premises, while 13 of these occurred inside the school’s property.
In 2019, 134 pupils were expelled, 40% due to violence and assault.
The City’s School Resource Officers, attached to the Law Enforcement Department, confiscated 46 knives, 40 scissors, one golf club, a knitting needle, 194 dagga cigarettes and one live R5 round, two bottle necks, three screwdrivers, one pepper spray, 114 lighters, 66 dagga bankies, between January 2021 and this month.
The schoolboy gangster, who spoke anonymously, said: “I joined the Horrible Gang when I was still in primary school. I was about 13 years old, and I started to smoke weed. Then I went to Grade 7, and that school heard that I was with the Horrible gang. Almost every day, I started to deal weed to get money. The money was just to get high. I went to another school, and I was suspended because there were also gangs, and they ganged up on me. I also stole a cellphone and stuff because my gang leader gave me orders to do so.”
WCED spokesperson Bronagh Hammond said discipline was taken against pupils who are involved in such criminal activities and that the Safer schools programme would be informed to intervene and help.
“Schools report gang-related incidents via our Safe Schools call centre. This includes reporting incidents outside of the school property if there are gang-related shootings in the area or a presence of a known gang outside the school. Thankfully, no reported deaths have occurred inside school premises in 2021 and 2022.
“Of the 32 reported gang-related incidents in 2022 – 13 have occurred inside the school premises. The majority of the 32 incidents have been shootings in the area. However, the 13 reported cases involve weapons being found on learners or gang presence.
“Of the 189 incidents reported by schools in 2021, the large majority have been related to gang shootings in the area or reported gang presence. Thirty-one incidents were inside the school. “Schools liaise with SAPS regarding search and seizure exercises.
“Twenty-two search and seizures were conducted in 2021 and 56 in 2022 to date. No learners have been expelled in 2021 and 2022 for gang-related activity or transgressions.
“We have sympathy for the challenges some schools and their educators face when dealing with spikes of gang violence within communities. Our Safe Schools directorate engages with schools regarding programmes for implementation and safety control measures.
“Schools must implement disciplinary action, should learners transgress their codes of conduct.
Mayco member for Safety and Security JP Smith said 90% of confiscations took place at high schools.
“Between January 2021 and March 2022, the City’s School Resource Officers attached to the Law Enforcement Department recorded the following statistics: Approximately 90% of confiscations were at secondary schools. Learners caught with items are taken to the principal’s office and are then subjected to the school’s internal disciplinary procedures.
South African Human Rights Commissioner Andre Gaum’s office said it was a reality that gang violence impacted both pupils and teaching staff, creating an unsafe environment and called for interventions.
“The negative impacts of gangsterism and gang activities in schools can never be understated. It is common cause that gangsterism and gang activities undermine the safety and security of teachers and learners alike. Similarly, in environments where teachers and learners feel unsafe and/or are victimised, it follows that the quality of teaching and learning will be compromised. Further, gangsterism and gang activities around schools are often accompanied by drug dealing and use.
“The Commission urges the Department to also identify and assess the vulnerability of schools to gangsterism and gang activity on a quarterly basis. Lastly, the Commission urges the Department to develop protocols for monitoring schemes and other early detection mechanisms.”
A former security guard, who worked for 20 years at a high school in Mitchells Plain and who cannot be identified due to safety concerns, said she often had to be the peacemaker between rival gangs.
“I would receive the information that a certain gang would be waiting for the pupil after school, and I would inform the principal to delay the bell and lock myself up with the pupil in a classroom.
“One day, I found myself between two pupils who were armed with knives, and on another occasion, I had confiscated drugs from a transporter on our school grounds, which belonged to a drug dealer.”
Weekend Argus