People Against Gangsterism and Drugs
Type | Vigilante group |
---|---|
Legal status | Active |
Location | |
Region served | Africa |
Website | www |
People Against Gangsterism and Drugs (PAGAD) is a group formed in 1996 in the Cape Flats area of Cape Town, South Africa. The organisation came to prominence for acts against gangsters, including arson and murder.
Origins
PAGAD was founded by a handful of Pan Africanist Congress of Azania (PAC) and community members from a Cape Town townships who decided to organize public demonstrations to pressure the government to fight the illegal drug trade and gangsterism more effectively.[1]: 11 [2] However, PAGAD increasingly took matters into their own hands, believing the police were not taking enough action against gangs.[3] Initially the community and police were hesitant to act against PAGAD activities, recognising the need for community action against crime in the gang-ridden communities of the Cape Flats.[2][3]
Notorious gangsters were initially asked by PAGAD members to stop their criminal activities or be subject to "popular justice". A common PAGAD
Changes within the organisation following the incidents of 1996 increased the influence of more highly politicised and organisationally experienced people within it associated with
The threat of growing vigilantism in 2000 led the Western Cape provincial government to declare a "war on gangs" that became a key priority of the ANC provincial government at the time.[1]: 11
Cape Town bombings
Although PAGAD's leadership denied involvement, PAGAD's G-Force, operating in small cells, was believed responsible for killing a large number of gang leaders, and also for a bout of urban terrorism—particularly bombings—in Cape Town. The bombings started in 1998, and included nine bombings in 2000. In addition to targeting gang leaders, bombing targets included South African authorities, synagogues, gay nightclubs, tourist attractions, and Western-associated restaurants.[5] The most prominent attack during this time was the bombing on 25 August 1998 of the Cape Town Planet Hollywood which resulted in two deaths and 26 injuries.[3]
In September 2000, magistrate Pieter Theron, who was presiding in a case involving PAGAD members, was murdered in a drive-by shooting.[6]
PAGAD's leaders have become known for making
Violent acts such as bombings in Cape Town subsided in 2002, and the police have not attributed any such acts to PAGAD since the November 2002 bombing of the Bishop Lavis offices of the Serious Crimes Unit in the Western Cape. In 2002, PAGAD leader Abdus Salaam Ebrahim was convicted of public violence and imprisoned for seven years. Although a number of other PAGAD members were arrested and convicted of related crimes, none were convicted of the Cape Town bombings.
Current activities
Today, PAGAD maintains a small and less visible presence in the Cape Town
In the run up to the
References
- ^ a b c Fourchard, L. (2011). "The politics of mobilization for security in South African townships". volume 110, issue 441. African Affairs. pp. 607–627. Archived from the original on 15 April 2013. Retrieved 6 August 2012.
- ^ a b c d Dixon, Bill; Johns, Lisa-Marie (May 2001). "Gangs, Pagad & the State: Vigilantism and Revenge Violence in the Western Cape" (PDF). Centre for the Study of Violence and Reconciliation. Archived from the original (PDF) on 19 February 2015. Retrieved 23 April 2014.
- ^ a b c d "Pagad: Vigilantes or terrorists?". BBC News. 13 September 2000.
- ^ Drogin, Bob (13 August 1996). "Anti-Gang Fury Roils S. Africa". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 8 February 2017.
- ^ "History of terror events in democratic SA". BusinessLIVE. Retrieved 22 May 2022.
- ^ "Cape Town bomb 'link' to killing". BBC News. 9 September 2000.
- ^ "Antisemitism And Racism: South Africa". Stephen Roth Institute. 1998. Archived from the original on 4 August 2007.
- ^ "Stephen Roth Institute: Antisemitism and Racism". Archived from the original on 19 November 2012. Retrieved 1 October 2012.
- ^ Natasha Bezuidenhout & Warren Fortune (3 April 2014). "EFF joins Pagad on anti-drugs march". Cape Argus. Retrieved 15 April 2014.
- ^ Majiet, Laila (11 April 2014). "PAGAD SUPPORT 'INCREASING' IN MITCHELL'S PLAIN". People's Post. Retrieved 15 April 2014.
- ^ Merwe, Marelise Van Der (3 August 2015). "Pagad & The Gangs: Cape Town's streets of fire". Daily Maverick. Retrieved 9 November 2020.
- ^ "Pagad G-Force leader charged with conspiracy to kill magistrate, cop involved in his sons' criminal case".
- ^ Buhr, Shona (13 February 2023). "Former Pagad leader in Eldos ambushed next to his house". Sunday World. Retrieved 29 May 2023.
Further reading
- Shaw, Mark (2023). Breaking the Bombers - how the hunt for Pagad created a crack police unit, Publisher: ISBN 978-1-77619-151-2. Book on the history of Pagad and its impact on the criminal environment in Cape Town.
External links
- People Against Gangsterism and Drugs
- Gangs, Pagad & the State: Vigilantism and Revenge Violence in the Western Cape - Centre for the Study of Violence and Reconciliation, 2001
- People Against Gangsterism and Drugs (PAGAD), Center for Defense Information