Gangs need a controlled area from which to sell drugs, collect revenue from theft, and recruit members. Some schools in our study were so destabilised by gangs that both children and staff members enter and leave campus as they wish and classes are not conducted according to any regular schedule. Sometimes teachers fear their own pupils who carry weapons, smoke dagga in the toilets, and move off and onto school grounds freely. We also know of certain KwaMashu schools where students cower in class during all the breaks for fear of gang members who enter and leave the grounds as they please. The school youth, so often the targets of gang activities, dare not talk as their well-being and the lives of their families are then threatened.
Gangs hunt down and sometimes kill learners who are suspected of revealing their activities.
Intimidation by gangs undermines all attempts at creating a culture of learning and teaching. 1.2 Security measures were seriously inadequate in 9 out of ten of the schools. The security conditions in nearly all the disadvantaged schools were appalling. The most basic safeguards were either not in place or were being removed. These include adequate fencing, police protection, weapons checks, and security guards.