LOCAL CAPE TOWN NGO WORKING TO REHABILITATE GANG

C O N F I D E N T I A L CAPE TOWN 000044

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 03/05/2019
TAGS: GTIP KCRM SF SOCI
SUBJECT: LOCAL CAPE TOWN NGO WORKING TO REHABILITATE GANG
MEMBERS

Classified By: CG ALBERTA MAYBERRY for reasons 1.4 (b) and (d).


1. (U) On February 27, Poloff and PAO met with Reverend
Jacobus Nomdoe, Director of Teen Challenge. Among other
things, Teen Challenge targets gang members by removing them
from the gang and placing them in the center. The program
aims to rehabilitate these former gang members primarily
through education and hopes to build a skills development
center for job training as well. Teen Challenge uses a
Christian based curriculum that lasts 14 months and has a
75-86 percent success rate among people who finish the
program. Those who are not successful often go back to the
gangs. Currently, there are 45 people living in the center
participating in Reverend Nomdoe,s program. Sometimes
parents bring in their children and other times the center
goes into the community to recruit. Currently, the ages of
the center,s residents range from 13-38 years old.


2. (C) Nomdoe explained to Consulate officers that local
gangs recruit boys and girls as young as 11 to join their
gangs. The more established gangs will pay the school fees,
uniforms, food and whatever else a child might need for years
until the child reaches around 11 or 12 years old, then the
gang approaches the family to 'take control of the child.'
Often times the gang pays the expenses of a child because the
child,s mother is a single parent and can not afford to pay
these expenses, very well knowing that the gang will take
control of the child whenever they want. The gangs will
often give the children crystal meth (called Tik in SA).
Currently, gangs are mixing the Tik with a strawberry shaped
and flavored candy in order to get the children hooked.


3. (C ) In addition, gangs often use these young children
(both boys and girls) for sex. The gang leader is always the
first to have sex with a new &member and then will pass the
child around to other gang members. In order to be initiated
into the gang, the new member must have sex with between
20-30 gang members. New members can also be initiated if
they kill someone in a rival gang. Like gangs anywhere else
in the world, local gangs make their money from prostitution,
drug money, theft, and crack houses, said Nomdoe. One local
gang, "the Americans," insist that new members pay an
initiation fee, which is usually garnered through theft or
other illicit activities.


4. ( C ) Nomdoe said there are between 3000-8000 gang
members in the Cape Flats area of Cape Town. There is also a
confederation of gang members called The Firm,, which
operates all over South Africa. In addition, the Chinese
triad, the Russian mafia and the Nigerian mafia work together
with local gangs in trafficking of drugs and persons. After
a girl has outlived her usefulness as a prostitute or becomes
pregnant, many gangs will auction the girl off to the highest
bidder, explained Nomodoe. Teen Challenge has bought several
girls at the price of $50-$200 USD per person. Often these
girls are only 13-14 years old and some of them are already
mothers. The girls who are not lucky enough to be "bought"
by Teen Challenge are sold to the Nigerians, Chinese, and
Russians, usually to work in local sex clubs, said Nomodoe.


5. (C) It is not uncommon for female associates of gangs to
achieve positions of power and influence within a gang,
provided they are sufficiently cunning and ruthless. After
all, as Nomdoe pointed out, a gang leader,s wife or
girlfriend might know everything that the gang leader knows.
But managing such a high-wire act is not a realistic
QBut managing such a high-wire act is not a realistic
possibility for most of these girls, who are young,
impoverished, and without much freedom of movement.


6. ( C) In 2008, Nomodoe uncovered a recruitment ring where
gangs are preparing women for prostitution during the 2010
World Cup. He believes that there will be an increase in
gang violence in the upcoming months as gangs fight over turf
in preparation for 2010. He also noted that the police
recently caught gang members who were inviting primary aged
school children into limousines to show them pornographic
movies as a preliminary step in their recruitment efforts.
MAYBERRY