Waterval prisoner, Thokozani Ntuli, was killed and 26 others were injured when a fight broke out between rival numbers gangs, 26s and 28s, last Monday.
National media reported that the 35-year-old was killed during a fight with broomsticks after Thokozani opted to remain neutral instead of join a gang.
Police sources indicated, however, that he was stabbed to death with an okapi knife.
Correctional services spokesperson, Thami Zondi, confirmed that Thokozani had been, “injured and killed when a fight broke out among the offenders,” but said that the case was being handled by Correctional Service’s regional office.
A former prisoner of Waterval, who asked to remain anonymous for fear of his life, that savage gang fights were part of life inside.
“The 26s are all about making money,” he said. “The 28s were all about bloodshed and initiation into the gang involves an act of violence during which blood must be spilt. There are also homosexuals,” he said.
A glimpse at the numbers gangs
(This information was taken from www.thenumbersgang.weebly.com)
The 26s
· Specialise in robbery, smuggling and other monetary crimes
· Work as the cleaners in the prisons
· Recruits of the 26s only need to be able to scavenge for goods and who has his wits about him, wherever they are
· Members must be active in the gangs duties and can’t just laze around
· The 26s keep the prisons alive and are responsible for acquiring supplies of money, drugs, cigarettes and other luxuries and known for beating the system
· The wealth they bring into the prison system must be shared with the 28s, if the 28s are low on resources
· Do not use violence very often and are often seen as a soft option for new recruits
· However, although it is the softer option of the gangs, they do have a history of blood wars and must take blood in order to obtain a higher rank
· If a member of the 26s becomes to violent and aggressive, he must become a 27 because there is no room for him in the 26s ideology
· Members of the 26s should not look for blood nor should they seek same sex relationships
· A 26 can at any stage covert to a 27, if he would like to communicate with the camp of the 28s
· However, if a 26 wishes to remain a 27, he must take blood in order to remain a 27
· Any inmate who has been raped, cannot join the 26s
· The 26 gang will also not tolerate any member who has sustained head injury in prison, unless he takes back his blood by stabbing a warder
The 27s
· They are the men of blood and the most violent of the gangs
· They are career criminals specialising in violence
· Monitor and enforce the laws and codes of the number
· They negotiate problems and communicate between the 26s and 28s
· If one is a 28 and not a wyfie, one can become a 27 by taking blood and lots of it
· Do not allow any same sex relationships in the 27 camp
· The most secretive of the numbers gang camps and little is known about their structure
The 28s
· They are the sexual offenders, who have sex or who are raped in the gang
· They believe in same sex relationships
· They are broken up into either the Gold line, the Silver line or the Third division in the gang. The 28s usually work in the kitchens of all prisons and share food equally.
