Numbers Gang

The 26s' duty is to accumulate wealth for all the numbers.[3] The 26s have no private line and a wyfie may not join the gang. Although a member of the 26s may take a wyfie for himself, it is strictly against the laws as set out in the book of 26s.

The gang has a very specific hierarchy, structured as follows:

In the number 2s and the number 1s there is a number 1's and number 2's twelve point ring, for number 4's and 5's, but not 6's or 7's, who have an 11 point ring, unless they're number 8's, which make gang decisions according to their jurisdictions. Each rank has its own assigned office and duties which include training lower rank members in the duties and codes of the gang.[4]

The 26s have historically been considered an inferior gang and have lived in the shadow of the 28s; however, in some prisons they have risen up against the 28s and taken control of the prison (see "general elections" below), such as in Westville.

The 28s are the blood line of the gang and are responsible for fighting on behalf of the three gangs (26, 27 and 28). They are divided into two lines – the gold line and the silver line. Haysom's study (1981) on prison gangs is based on Supreme Court trial records and supplemented with some interviews with ex-offenders. Schurink's paper (1989) summarises the findings of a study on prison gangs commissioned by the Department of Correctional Services. For this study, in-depth interviews were conducted with sixty prisoners, mainly Coloured men serving in St Albans and Brandvlei prisons. Prisoners were also encouraged to write about their prison experiences, providing a number of personal manuscripts.

The gold line are the warriors, the descendants of Nongoloza. They fight the gang's battles.

The silver line are the female, and are the descendants of Magubane. They are considered to be the sex slaves of the gold line.

In the 28s it is important to prove your manhood and move up in the rankings. A member moves up the ranks through the stabbing or killing of rival gangs, prison guards, or disobedient members. Should a member stay in the lower ranks, he will be considered a woman and will be sexually abused until he proves his manhood.

When a new prisoner is assigned a cell he will be introduced to the person in charge of that cell, known as the "cell cleaner". The cell cleaner will welcome the new prisoner to the cell, and will either leave him alone for the evening, or will demand intercourse.

The new prisoners will be observed by a senior member of the gang known as "die glas" (the binoculars). The glas' job is to conduct gang business in die bos (the bush), the parts of the prison where the 28s are not active. The glas will confront a potential new recruit and give him a riddle. How the new prisoner answers the riddle will determine which department of the gang he will fall under.

The glas will generally watch the way new members interact with other franse (non-gang members). He will watch how the new prisoner deals with conflict, the way he solves problems, and the way he walks and talks. The glas then approaches the new prisoner and says, "I am going to ask you a question. Think very carefully before answering. It is raining. You are standing under an umbrella. I say to you, I am getting wet; I may get sick. What are you going to do?" The new inmate's answer will determine his future in the prison. If he says, "I invite you to share my umbrella," he will become a sex slave and will not become a member of the 28s. If the new inmate says, "I will come out into the rain with you," it means that he is prepared to live like the other man; they are brothers and they will live and die together.

After the glas is satisfied with the answer of the new inmate, he is given a task to become a member. This task could either be the fatal or non-fatal stabbing of another inmate or warden. The new recruit will be given a knife whose length is determined by another senior member of the gang known as the nyangi (the doctor). If the gang wants the stabbing to be fatal, the nyangi will give the new recruit a longer blade; if the gang wants a non-lethal stabbing, he will be given a shorter blade.

Once the stabbing has taken place all the gang members watching will shout, "Nangampela![5] Die nommer is vol!" (The number is complete.)

On a Sunday, the "day of rites", his ceremony is performed. He is once again ordered to stand in the middle of the room; however, this time he is surrounded by several people. The first person to approach him is the nyangi. The nyangi then takes a gold pipe and slaps it on the new recruit's right wrist, then takes a silver pipe and slaps it on the new recruit's left wrist. He then checks the recruit's pulse and declares either "Die man se pols klop twee keer per jaar" (This man's pulse beats twice a year) or "Die man se pols klop drie keer per jaar'" (This man's pulse beats three times a year). If he says that his pulse beats twice, it means the new recruit is being recruited into the silver line; if three times, it means he is being recruited into the gold line.

The gwenza (senior member) then places a handkerchief on the floor and slips a knife under it. He stands and says to the recruit: "From today you are no longer a franse. You are a 28. You will never swear at your brother. You will never hurt your brother. You will never do anything that reflects badly on the camp. If you leave the camp, you leave by your own blood."

The landdros (magistrate) will then come forward and take out his colored stamps and give the new member his approval. The landdros carries four stamps – white, green, red and black, which signify the four hooves on the Rooiland. The stamps signify promotion. When a member of the silver line is promoted, the landdros takes out his green and white stamp; if the member is from the gold line, he takes out the green and the red stamps. The black stamp is reserved for the death sentence.

The end of the ceremony is signalled by the new recruit being marched out of the circle. The 28s then take the new recruit to the 26s and 27s.

The new recruit will sleep alongside different members of the 28 gang and be told what his duties are. He will also begin to learn the history of Nongoloza and Kilikijan. It will only be a brief fragment of the story, for he is still too junior to hear the whole story.

The 40s are senior but inactive due to being too old or too injured for active duty. Another reason a person could be a mamboza is because his position has already being filled by another member. A prison cannot have two active nyangis, for example, and if another nyangi is transferred from another prison he is considered dormant – he sleeps in the 40s.

The mambozas begin to teach the new member to sabela (speak prison language). It is a long and gruelling process. The new member has to sabela all day and night with his blackboard (teacher). In the first two months a new member is not allowed to receive visits, write letters or read books. They must focus on the number gang. If somebody learns too slowly, the punishments are severe. New members can be stripped of all their clothes and thrown into an ice cold shower until they "find the number" (get it right).

One of the last things new members learn is about a position in the silver line held by a man named Mtjoetijies. This man is dead, but his place in the hierarchy is left empty. Legend has it that Mtjoetijies was a translator for Nongoloza, who refused to speak the language of the white oppressor. Nongoloza grew increasingly wary about what Mtjoetijies was saying to the white officers, and decided to kill him as a precaution. The position remains open as a reminder that the 28s do not negotiate with words, they negotiate with action.

This ritual, however, has now changed. The fundamental principles remain the same; however, in modern 28 law the man who trains you is now also allowed to have sex with you. This change came along because of the war between the silver and gold lines of the number.

In the late '80s a decision was taken to stop bloodlines (no stabbing). The silver line complained that the gold line were now not doing their jobs. The gold line complained about the silver line being greedy with food. In the days when the bloodlines were still open the gold line members had a very strict diet to follow as they were not allowed to get fat. For example, they were not allowed to eat eggs and were never allowed sugar with their coffee or porridge. All these items went to the silver lines instead. Upon the closing of the bloodlines the gold line demanded that they get the food they wanted since there was no longer a need to stay fit. The silver line refused, and thus the gold line declared war on the silver line.

Within months hostilities had ceased. The hospital beds were filled with soldiers from the 28 gang.

The gold line formally offered their surrender. The silver line then set out their terms. They closed down the gold line and vowed that it would never be opened again. They threw the soldiers out of their ranks and filled these ranks with silver line members. They then decreed that nobody would have to take blood to join the 28s again. They also changed the initiation rules: they stated that any person who wished to join the 28s had to have sex with their teacher.

The rule of the blood has, however, changed. Modern members are now expected both to kill upon order of their general, as well as to have sex with their teacher. They are also expected to know the "Number" to the extent that the new members are often woken up in the middle of the night and asked the "Number"; if they get it wrong they either have to have sex with any fellow brother or are asked to kill another inmate.

The 27s are the most secretive division, and enforce gang law.

The two 28s are not allowed to speak directly to the 26s. They communicate through the 27s. When the 28s recruit a new member, the 28s inform the 27s who then inform the 26s. This is seen as a "hands off" warning to the other gangs.

The relationship between gang members and the warders is a complex and an uneasy one. Under the apartheid regime they feared the warders. They knew that the warders would not be watched by human rights groups, so when there was a stabbing of an officer the warders would beat the gang members to within an inch of their lives.

Under the new system, however, the warders have become targets. The numbers gangs are well aware that the consequences of their actions will not result in a beating or the death penalty, and therefore new initiates are encouraged to stab a warden or even to attempt to take his eye out of the socket.

One of the most compelling messages that the numbers gang members like to send to the warders is by holding up a mirror toward the warden. This derives from the traditional practice of holding up an image of an inmate. The message the numbers are said to be sending is, "We are what you are. You are an army, we are an army. Where you have a head of the prison, we will have a judge. Where you have a head of a section, we will have a general. Whatever you do to us, we will do to you in turn."

The gang has a strict code of conduct and failure to abide by these rules has severe consequences for the perpetrator.

Upon the outcome of the trial a punishment is chosen. The ultimate punishment is death. An execution squad will carry out the order. They could possibly suffocate the offender in their bed or slit their throat. The death punishment is known as a "number one".

The second worst punishment just short of death is to be raped by a prisoner that is known to carry HIV. This practice is known as "slow puncture". The offender's anus is cut open so it bleeds, thus ensuring infection. The gang holds the offender down and the HIV-infected prisoner proceeds to rape the offender.

Less severe forms of punishment include "klappe" (hits), which involves 10 slaps to the face with an open hand, and the "beker" (mug), which involves blows on the head with a tin cup attached to a sock.

Other forms of punishment include gang rape and what is known as a "carry on", in which the offender lifts up his arms and is beaten with padlocks, stick and cups.

Punishments that do not involve any harm to the offender involve the murder of a non-gang member.