From gang general to guardian angel
When one hears about gangs, the immediate association is often negative, with little thought given to rehabilitation.
However, the story of former high-ranking gang member Welcome Witbooi challenges this perception.
At 38, originally from Valhalla Park in Cape Town, Witbooi's life is a testament to perseverance, determination, and the power of change. He was drawn into gang life at the young age of 12, starting out as a runner.
A runner usually does menial tasks for gangs such as collecting or delivering packages. Young children are used for these jobs as police would never suspect them.
Speaking to IOL, Witbooi revealed that after joining the street gang, he initially committed petty crimes. However, at the age of 16, he was approached about participating in a major robbery — a decision that would ultimately lead to his imprisonment.
“I was 16 years old. I was arrested for my first offence (in the eyes of the law) and I thought because I was a first-time offender, they would go easy on me. I was wrong. There was no leniency.
“I was charged with robbery, extortion, kidnapping, attempted murder and taken to Pollsmoor Prison. One of the most dangerous prisons in the world. I was behind bars for a year and once I was 17 years old we went to trial. I was sentenced on November 21, 1999, to 23 years imprisonment,” Witbooi said.
The news hit him like a ton of bricks.
Once a prisoner has been sentenced, they are moved to a different section of the prison where they would essentially serve out their sentence.
It was during this time Witbooi had to make a choice. While he may be from a street gang on the ‘outside’, he had to choose to either be part of the number gang (26, 27, or 28) or be a frans (non-gang member).
Witbooi chose the 28 gang.
He explained that what people do not understand is that street gangs have names and are usually affiliated to a number (either 26, 27, or 28). However, when joining the number gang in prison, one can go for a different number but its usually advised to stick to the number affiliated with the street gang.
He worked his way up the ladder of the 28s gang from being a normal soldier to general.
Witbooi became the youngest and first star general in the 28s, the highest rank within the number.
It is not an easy feat to get to this ranking and blood would need to be spilled, in prison. In this case, it would be that of a warden.
Witbooi said if he knew what he was getting himself into, he would have chosen differently.
“I would advise others don’t do it. Don’t get involved with gangs. Be the frans. Endure the washing of others laundry. They paint it out to be a life of servitude,” Witbooi said.
“But, if I knew I’d wash someone’s underwear for a while and I would be free I would have done it because doing the laundry does not last forever,” he said.
“People do not realise that signing up as a gang member that death is the only real way out. There is a fine print people do not read. The gangs do give you time to think. Please, take the time to think.”
Witbooi was a general for the 28s gang for seven years.
He had been at Pollsmoor Prison, Drakenstein, Worcester, Voorberg, and Goodwood during his prison stay.
During his time in prison, in the prison yard, he heard another inmate boasting about his crime about rape and murder and this was a moment of reflection for him.
“I had to ask myself, What happens if one day I have a daughter? How could I protect her? I realised this was not the life I wanted for myself. I realised this was not for me,” Witbooi explained.
He wanted to leave the number but it’s not as easy as it sounds.
Witbooi had to approach the head of the prison he was at to ensure he could sit council and motivate his reasons for wanting to leave the number to his fellow generals.
“I had to go to the head of the prison and get four generals transported from four different prisons to decide if I could leave,” he said.
“Two generals stood in front of me, and two stood behind me. I stood in the centre, completely naked (so they could see I was not concealing anything), and gave my reasons for wanting to leave. If I could leave they would tell me. If not, I would feel it, because the two generals behind me would stab and kill me,” said Witbooi.
However, not knowing a good deed years back would save his life.
“In the end, it was my education and the things I did outside of prison that saved me. I helped one of the generals to read and write before we were these ranks and another with a relationship issue. This actually saved my life,” Witbooi said.
“It was also during this time that while the general who I had helped to read and write made me think. If I could teach him, I could teach anyone and this made me extremely determined.”
Once he exited from the number, Witbooi was moved to a single cell and then subsequently moved to Goodwood Prison.
“While they allowed me to exit. For 60 days, the number will watch and monitor you closely to see whether you were true to your word of wanting to leave. They will also test you to see if I slip up,” Witbooi said.
After his move to Goodwood, this is where he was determined to make a change using education.
“I reached out to the head of the prison and asked if I could start a school. It was difficult. To some offenders I betrayed the number and here I came to teach. At the time most of the men could not read or write but they could sabela (sabela is a covert communication dialect of several major South African languages formed by the numbers gang),” Witbooi said.
He said he had to prove himself and while most offenders were not eager, he had to get them eager.
“I started with two students, then three. I then had to barter on time with classes so then the class grew to 10 and then 15. This is when the prison got me a dedicated classroom. A prison official was also assigned to oversee. That’s how I went from gang general to teacher. I went from taking lives to giving life,” Witbooi said.
In 2009, the first class doing their matric at Goodwood prison got a 100% pass rate. At the time welcome also got his UNISA qualification in Adult Basic Education and Training.
He said at the time, to ensure his students were not studying alone, he also studied towards his qualifications.
“The idea was if I can do it, so can you. There was peace between 26s, 27s, and 28s. They were not just learning numbers and maths but learning communication and its dynamics. The school officially became one of the best schools,” he said.
“We tend to tell youth not to join gangs but we’re not giving them a substitute. Mine was education. Today, the schools established at Goodwood and Brandvlei prisons continue.”
In 2012, after 14 years in prison, Witbooi was released on parole based on his exemplary record.
Since his release, Witbooi, now married and a father of two daughters has devoted his life to educating and saving the youth from falling into the wrong clutches.
Witbooi is the director of BrightSpark Foundation SA which aims to serve as a beacon of hope to inspire change, remove barriers that separate people, and restore hope through its variety of youth and community-based development programmes, projects, and campaigns.
robin.francke@iol.co.za
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