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On December 13 last year, Rashied Staggie, one of Cape Town and South Africa’s most infamous gang bosses, was gunned down and killed whilst sat in a car parked outside his Salt River home.

The 58-year-old was killed on the same street where his twin brother, Rashaad, was murdered 23 years earlier by members of People Against Gangsterism and Drugs (Pagad), with the two having formed the Hard Livings gang during their heyday in Manenberg.

Known as ‘the Untouchables’, Rashied’s murder brought to a close a chapter in the history of the Cape Flats, and there have been a number of theories put forward about who was behind the latest hit.

If you really want to understand the Staggies and their rise to prominence, the BBC doccie The Cape of Fear is a good place to start:

Getting back to Rashied’s murder, and the circumstances behind it. According to research into the Cape Flats gang landscape conducted by the Global Initiative Against Transnational Organised Crime, and reported on by the Daily Maverick, there are three possible motives:

1. A relative of Staggie’s upset at not being promoted within the ranks of the Hard Livings;
2. Staggie’s deteriorating relationship with the 28s gang; and
3. His alleged defrauding of Nigerians seeking entry into the Cape Town drug market.

In short, the first of those theories says that a relative plotted Rashied’s murder with the help of another gang, having had his aspirations of rising through the gang structures thwarted.

The second is pretty intriguing:

The second theory relates to the failing relationship between Staggie and the 28s gang. Years before, the Staggie brothers had worked closely with the 28s under the Firm and CORE, two alliances of gang leaders. The Firm focused more on regulating the drug trade, while CORE’s aim was ostensibly to contribute to community development in partnership with the government.

@SAcrimefighters / Twitter

The strength of this relationship apparently largely rested on Rashaad Staggie’s good standing with the 28s. However, Staggie’s relations with the 28s eventually deteriorated, and rumours link him to multiple recent gang hits or attempted hits.

With regards to the Nigerians, some have said that Rashied actually took the money that they had given him to invest in the local drug trade and kept it for himself, which led to the hit.

In the days and weeks after Rashied’s death, there were fears of widespread retribution and gang violence, but this didn’t materialise. According to the research, this was because underworld bosses were actually happy to see the back of him, and were fed up with his ‘double life’.

Rashied spoke about giving up gang life and converting to Christianity, but many say he was “more active than ever”.

Staggie’s “double life” dates back to his spell in prison following his conviction for the gang-rape of a 17-year-old girl in 2003. This attack was reportedly in revenge for her informing on the gang and revealing where firearms were stashed. She was also shot in an apparent hit attempt years later and still lives in hiding. Before Staggie’s release from prison for good behaviour in 2013, he supposedly changed his life and converted to Christianity. He claimed to no longer be a gang boss or involved in the drug trade in any way, but to have refocused on giving back to the community which he admitted having wronged. But behind this public persona, he is said to have continued his business as usual.

The Daily Maverick goes on to plot out what has happened in the aftermath of Rashied’s death, as well as look at what territory and markets the Hard Livings gang now controls.

It’s well worth reading the article in full here for a closer look at how and where the Cape’s most notorious gangs operate.

[source:dailymaverick]