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The Number (book)
The Number : One Man's Search for Identity in the Cape Underworld and Prison Gangs is a non fiction book written by Jonny Steinberg about South Africa's criminal tradition of prison gangs. It won South Africa's premier nonfiction literary award, the ''Sunday Times'' Alan Paton Award. The author researched prison gangs based in Pollsmoor prison resulting in the books ''The Number'' and the later '' Nongoloza's Children''. Overview Steinberg has written about South Africa's criminal justice system for the Institute for Security Studies in Pretoria and the Centre for the Study of Violence and Reconciliation in Johannesburg, South Africa. He received a doctorate in political theory while studying at Oxford University. ''The Number'' is based on 50 hours of interviews with the 43 year old member of the 28's gang Magadien Wentzel, one of the inhabitants of Pollsmoor Prison in Cape Town Cape Town ( af, Kaapstad; , xh, iKapa) is one of South Africa's three capital cities, serv ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Jonny Steinberg
Jonny Steinberg (born 22 March 1970) is a South African writer and scholar. He is the author of several books about everyday life in the wake of South Africa's transition to democracy. Two of them, ''Midlands'' (2002), about the murder of a white South African farmer, and '' The Number'' (2004), a biography of a prison gangster, won the ''Sunday Times'' Alan Paton Award. In 2013, Steinberg was awarded the Windham-Campbell Literature Prize. Biography Steinberg was born and raised in South Africa. He was educated at Wits University in Johannesburg, and at the University of Oxford, where he was a Rhodes Scholar and earned a doctorate in political theory. He has worked as a journalist at a South African national daily newspaper, written scripts for television drama, and has been a consultant to the South African government on criminal justice policy. He lectures in African Studies at the University of Oxford. On 18 February 2015, he wrote an open letter declaring he would return to ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sunday Times Literary Awards
The ''Sunday Times'' CNA Literary Awards are awarded annually to South African writers by the South African weekly newspaper the ''Sunday Times''. They comprise the ''Sunday Times'' CNA Literary Award for Non-fiction and the ''Sunday Times'' CNA Literary Award for Fiction, and are awarded for full-length non-fiction works and novels, respectively. Both winners receive R100 000. Ivan Vladislavic is the only person to have won both the fiction and the non-fiction award. History of the Awards Originally established in 1989, the Alan Paton Award was conferred annually for meritorious works of non-fiction. It aimed to reward books presenting "the illumination of truthfulness, especially those forms of it that are new, delicate, unfashionable and fly in the face of power," and demonstrating "compassion, elegance of writing, and intellectual and moral integrity." The award was named for Alan Paton, the famous South African author of ''Cry, The Beloved Country''. In 2001, a companio ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Pollsmoor Prison
Pollsmoor Prison, officially known as Pollsmoor Maximum Security Prison, is located in the Cape Town suburb of Tokai in South Africa. Pollsmoor is a maximum security penal facility that continues to hold some of South Africa's most dangerous criminals. Although the prison was designed with a maximum capacity of 4,336 offenders attended by a staff of 1,278, the current inmate population is over 7,000 (a figure which fluctuates daily). Structure of the prison Since it was established in 1964, the prison has been systematically expanded, so that Pollsmoor today comprises five prisons: * The Admission Centre serves a number of the courts in the Cape Peninsula (Cape Town, Mitchell's Plain, Somerset West and Wynberg). * Medium A Prison houses both awaiting trial and sentenced juveniles between the ages of 14 and 17. * Medium B Prison houses sentenced adult males. * Medium C Prison houses sentenced adult males with sentences of up to a year, sentenced adult males on day-parole or soo ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Nongoloza's Children
''Nongoloza's Children: Western Cape Prison Gangs During and After Apartheid'', a book written as a monograph about the gangs from prisons of the Western Cape during and after racial isolation, was written for the Centre for the Study of Violence and Reconciliation by Jonny Steinberg. It explores the prevalence of gangs in society and in prisons and offers recommendations for solving post-apartheid gang violence. Overview The author writes that he spent nine months of research at PollsMoor Prison Admission Center. There he interviewed the prisoners, most of whom were awaiting trial. For an 18-month period he interviewed about 30 veterans members of gangs. During the 1980s and 1990s all of them served their sentences in prisons throughout the Western Cape. According to Steinberg, The Numbers Gangs take their inspiration from the historical figure Nongoloza Mathebula, born Mzuzephi Mathebula, who became the founder of The Number Gangs in South Africa. An early Johannesburg bandit, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
South Africa
South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring countries of Namibia, Botswana, and Zimbabwe; and to the east and northeast by Mozambique and Eswatini. It also completely enclaves the country Lesotho. It is the southernmost country on the mainland of the Old World, and the second-most populous country located entirely south of the equator, after Tanzania. South Africa is a biodiversity hotspot, with unique biomes, plant and animal life. With over 60 million people, the country is the world's 24th-most populous nation and covers an area of . South Africa has three capital cities, with the executive, judicial and legislative branches of government based in Pretoria, Bloemfontein, and Cape Town respectively. The largest city is Johannesburg. About 80% of the population are Black South Afri ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Oxford University
Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to the University of Oxford, the oldest university in the English-speaking world; it has buildings in every style of English architecture since late Anglo-Saxon. Oxford's industries include motor manufacturing, education, publishing, information technology and science. History The history of Oxford in England dates back to its original settlement in the Saxon period. Originally of strategic significance due to its controlling location on the upper reaches of the River Thames at its junction with the River Cherwell, the town grew in national importance during the early Norman period, and in the late 12th century became home to the fledgling University of Oxford. The city was besieged during The Anarchy in 1142. The university rose to domina ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Numbers Gang
The Numbers Gang is a crime organization that started as a prison gang with one of the most fearsome reputations in South Africa. Although they were founded in KwaZulu-Natal, it is believed that they are present in most South African prisons. The gang is divided into groups or camps named the ''26s'', ''27s'' and ''28s'' or the other non gang members called 'weifies' partially meaning women. Origin and history The Numbers Gang was started in the late 1800s, supposedly to protect black mineworkers. The origins of the gang remain uncertain at best. Amongst gang members, the likely apocryphal story of Nongoloza and Ngeleketshane is claimed as the gang's origin. The Numbers Gang story holds that a man named Paul Mambazo became alarmed by the exploitation of miners in late 1800 South Africa. Paul allegedly befriended a young zulu boy, a member of the Zulu called Nongoloza who said he was on his way to the mines to look for work, and Ngeleketshane, a member of the Pondo tribe. P ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Cape Town
Cape Town ( af, Kaapstad; , xh, iKapa) is one of South Africa's three capital cities, serving as the seat of the Parliament of South Africa. It is the legislative capital of the country, the oldest city in the country, and the second largest (after Johannesburg). Colloquially named the ''Mother City'', it is the largest city of the Western Cape province, and is managed by the City of Cape Town metropolitan municipality. The other two capitals are Pretoria, the executive capital, located in Gauteng, where the Presidency is based, and Bloemfontein, the judicial capital in the Free State, where the Supreme Court of Appeal is located. Cape Town is ranked as a Beta world city by the Globalization and World Cities Research Network. The city is known for its harbour, for its natural setting in the Cape Floristic Region, and for landmarks such as Table Mountain and Cape Point. Cape Town is home to 66% of the Western Cape's population. In 2014, Cape Town was named the best place ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Gangs In South Africa
The history of gangs in South Africa goes back to the Apartheid era. Many South African gangs began, and still exist, in urban areas. This includes cities like Cape Town, Port Elizabeth and Johannesburg. Cape Town has between 90 and 130 gangs with the South African Police Service stating a total estimated membership of 100,000. The gangs in the city of eThekwini are mostly known as 'sections' and 'hostels' because of their gang culture that dates back to the early 20th century. Unlike Cape Town and Johannesburg, sections and hostels do not fight for territory. It has remained like that for decades because of the geography of the city. History Western Cape Gangs rose to prominence in South Africa as a result of the Group Areas Act, which evicted “non-white” South Africans from their homes and resettled them in rural and underdeveloped areas far from urban and economic centres. This caused an increase in poverty and unemployment in Black and Coloured communities, most notab ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Non-fiction Books About Criminals
Nonfiction, or non-fiction, is any document or media content that attempts, in good faith, to provide information (and sometimes opinions) grounded only in facts and real life, rather than in imagination. Nonfiction is often associated with being presented more objectively, like historical, scientific, or otherwise straightforward and accurate information, but sometimes, can be presented more subjectively, like sincerely held beliefs and thoughts on a real-world topic. One prominent usage of nonfiction is as one of the two fundamental divisions of narrative (storytelling)—often, specifically, prose writing—in contrast to narrative fiction, which is largely populated by imaginary characters and events, though sometimes ambiguous regarding its basis in reality. Some typical examples of nonfiction include diaries, biographies, news stories, documentary films, textbooks, travel books, recipes, and scientific journals. While specific claims in a nonfiction work may pro ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Non-fiction Crime Books
Nonfiction, or non-fiction, is any document or media content that attempts, in good faith, to provide information (and sometimes opinions) grounded only in facts and real life, rather than in imagination. Nonfiction is often associated with being presented more objectively, like historical, scientific, or otherwise straightforward and accurate information, but sometimes, can be presented more subjectively, like sincerely held beliefs and thoughts on a real-world topic. One prominent usage of nonfiction is as one of the two fundamental divisions of narrative (storytelling)—often, specifically, prose writing—in contrast to narrative fiction, which is largely populated by imaginary characters and events, though sometimes ambiguous regarding its basis in reality. Some typical examples of nonfiction include diaries, biographies, news stories, documentary films, textbooks, travel books, recipes, and scientific journals. While specific claims in a nonfiction work may pr ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Non-fiction Books About Organized Crime
Nonfiction, or non-fiction, is any document or media content that attempts, in good faith, to provide information (and sometimes opinions) grounded only in facts and real life, rather than in imagination. Nonfiction is often associated with being presented more objectively, like historical, scientific, or otherwise straightforward and accurate information, but sometimes, can be presented more subjectively, like sincerely held beliefs and thoughts on a real-world topic. One prominent usage of nonfiction is as one of the two fundamental divisions of narrative (storytelling)—often, specifically, prose writing—in contrast to narrative fiction, which is largely populated by imaginary characters and events, though sometimes ambiguous regarding its basis in reality. Some typical examples of nonfiction include diaries, biographies, news stories, documentary films, textbooks, travel books, recipes, and scientific journals. While specific claims in a nonfiction work may pro ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
