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Going to Jail is never a good thing; it comes with a lot of challenges, stress, frustration, depression. The biggest challenge comes when you have to meet the dark side of being in prison, especially in South Africa. The prison world among inmates is a horrible one; one would conclude it as a nightmare. Because the prison has its mechanism of rules and has its own people who control the prison.
The hierarchy and struggles
One of the biggest challenges comes when you are a non-gang member, you being called a “Frans” in Afrikaans or “Mbatha” in Xhosa. The gang members call themselves “Ndodas” or “Owens”; these are the ones who control the prison among inmates. Violence is never a hard thing for them; they make sure to make the “Frans” suffer. You would see even on the first day in prison that life won’t be easy by the looks of things as the atmosphere will be tense.
“Sebela” is their language; as a Frans, you can’t hear what they are saying because it’s a hidden language. Frans or non-gang members are meant to do duties for Ndodas, such as washing their blankets, clothes, etc. It is a secret or a hidden rumour that other Ndodas take Frans or non-gang members’ wives in jail. I myself, during the time I was in jail, have never witnessed this; it was just speculations around the jail. It is believed that stories like this happen at maximum prison.
Unlike Frans, Ndodas are the ones who always get nice things in prison; they even have powers to take whatever they like from you as you have nothing to say to them because you are a non-gang member. Retaliation will lead to you being gang-assaulted as they are going to collaborate to beat you or even to stab you to death. Other Frans, because of the harsh conditions of jail, end up joining the gang members by being initiated and taught how to “sabela.” I also believe that this is a major reason why gangsterism will never end in jails because other gang members keep on recruiting Frans inmates to be aggressive gang members.
Transformation and gang dynamics
During the time I was in prison, I went to prison as a Frans, but when I came out of jail, I was knowing everything about the number…. Gangsterism is the main activity in jail because most of the time people don’t have anything to do, so they keep themselves busy by either talking or practicing the number and recruiting each other. When I was in a juvenile section, there are 4 cells or rooms in each section, and the other room is mainly reserved for gang members, and all other Frans inmates are occupying the other remaining 3 rooms.
I myself condemned that idea as I saw it as a way to promote gangsterism. Frans and Ndodas always meet during the exercise time; normally, it’s a 1-hour exercise a day. A Frans can always join the gang members depending on his courage and boldness because the cost of being a gang member is always tough; it always comes with consequences. But once you are converted from being a Frans to a Ndoda, you now follow all the rules of being a Ndoda, which includes whatever you have, it’s not yours only; it will be shared. Whatever you will get is going to be shared.
Frans inmates are not allowed to own nice things in prison; whatever you have is going to be taken by a Ndoda. However, on the other hand, I would say gangsterism sometimes helps to keep order between the inmates, though sometimes it leads to violence, but most of the time, it helps discipline between inmates because there is a leader who leads inmates.
DISCLAIMER: Submission published as received
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RESTORE is an NGO based in Cape Town, South Africa, providing inmates at Pollsmoor Prison with restorative justice opportunities.
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