God's Gangsters?: The Number Gangs in South African Prisons - Softcover

The number Gangs in South Africa's prisons are living legends and unique when compared with other prison gangs across the globe. They have created their own culture based on an idiosyncratic history and hierarchical structures that include invisible uniforms, laws and punishment rituals and a coded language that requires the indoctrinated to communicate through the use of metaphors and symbols. In prison the gang members dedicate their lives to a dangerous, fantastic mythology that condones the assertion of power through vicious acts of retribution. This new edition of God's Gangsters? Includes additional research material as well as a lexicon. The author writes of Mzozephi Mathebula, the magnetic anti-hero, whose spirit has haunted South Africa's prisons for over a hundred years. The birth, life, achievements and transmogrification of Mzozephi, as he adopts the title of Nongoloza- to become chief character in a tragic drama- are presented with insight and sensitivity.