People Against Gangsterism and Drugs (PAGAD)

YEAR ESTABLISHED OR BECAME ACTIVE: 1995

USUAL AREA OF OPERATION: South Africa

OVERVIEW

People Against Gangsterism and Drugs (PAGAD) is a group operating in and around Cape Town, South Africa. The group initially formed as a community-based anti-crime organization in 1995, with their intention being to help eliminate drug dealing and gang behavior from local neighborhoods.

During the period from 1995–2000, PAGAD became increasingly violent, both as a response to retaliation from gangs and as a result of the group adopting a view in which they considered themselves at war with the government. This led to a series of bombings on various targets, including Planet Hollywood in Cape Town.

PAGAD has maintained that they were not responsible for the bombings. This has led to speculation that an extremist section of PAGAD broke away from the main group and is responsible for the bombings. In 2000, PAGAD was also considered by South African authorities as having formed links with the extremist Islamic group Qibla. This led to the group being viewed as anti-Western and anti-American.

HISTORY

People Against Gangsterism and Drugs (PAGAD) originally formed in December 1995 in Cape Town, South Africa. The group was initially formed to act as a community-based anti-crime organization, with the specific purpose of reducing gang-related behavior and drug deals from occurring in the neighborhood. In the forming stages, the group had a majority of Muslim members, but was not exclusively Muslim. Drug dealing in the neighborhood was an ongoing problem for residents. Residents found it particularly difficult to take action because the drug dealers were supported both by criminal gangs and by some corrupt police officers.

PAGAD's initial intention was for members of the community group to patrol the streets, with this patrolling meant to discourage drug dealers from operating in the area. In a report on PAGAD, Bill Dixon and Lisa-Marie Johns note that PAGAD members were initially open to working with other anti-crime groups and with the police.

After its initial formation, PAGAD grew quickly, gaining new members and expanding to new areas of the community. In these early days of expansion, PAGAD positioned itself as an organization devoted to helping people help themselves. This focus appealed especially to Muslim communities in Cape Town, due to the Muslim focus on acting as a united community. With this new membership, PAGAD gradually became a mainly Muslim organization.

In the early days of the PAGAD patrolling, the group achieved reasonable success in limiting drug deals in the area. At this point, PAGAD had a reasonable amount of public support and even support from the area police.

In May 1996, PAGAD marched to parliament and called on the government to address the problems of gangsterism and drug dealing. PAGAD gave the government sixty days to respond. After sixty days, PAGAD had not received a response they considered satisfactory. Considering that they had given the government the opportunity to address the problem and been denied, PAGAD developed their own plan of action for preventing drug dealing.

This led to PAGAD's system of protest, where they marched on the houses of known drug dealers and demanded that they stop drug dealing.

During 1996, the drug dealers began to respond to PAGAD's actions in increasingly violent ways. PAGAD also became increasingly frustrated with the failure of the government to take any action in response to drug dealing or gang behavior. These issues caused a gradual change in PAGAD: from a loosely organized community group to a well-organized group willing, and seeing it as necessary, to employ more violent tactics.

In August 1996, Rashaad Staggie was murdered after a PAGAD protest march in Salt River. Rashaad Staggie was the twin brother of Rashied Staggie and co-leader of one of the most powerful gangs in Western Cape, the Hard Livings. Ali Parker, a member of PAGAD, called for a holy war, or jihad, against drug dealers and gang members. The group later stated that is was not exclusively Muslim or a militant group, suggesting that Parker's calls for a jihad represented the desire of one member and not of the group as a whole. In August 1996, PAGAD issued an ultimatum to gangs demanding that they stop drug dealing. Later in the same month, a member of PAGAD was murdered in what was considered as being a revenge attack by the gangsters.

In December 1996, PAGAD members protested near the Cape Town International Airport. The protest was intended to raise concerns about the lack of control preventing drugs from entering the country. The government declared that the protest was illegal and arrested several PAGAD members.

During 1997, conflict in the Cape Town area increased. This included conflict between PAGAD and gangs. Specific incidents included a drug dealer's home being burned down, as well as several retaliation attacks on mosques and Muslim individuals. In 1997, speculation also grew about a possible split within PAGAD. This split was thought to involve some members of PAGAD operating independently from the mainstream group, possibly with the support of the extremist Islamic group, Qibla.

In early 1998, a number of gang members were killed in drive-by shootings. These included Moeneeb Abrahams, Leonard Achilles, and Ivan Oliver, who were all members of the Hard Livings. This was the same group that Rashaad Staggie was a member of.

In 1998, PAGAD's role changed as their actions grew more violent and expanded to include bomb attacks. This change in strategy resulted in PAGAD being viewed as a violent terrorist organization. In August 1998, a bomb explosion at Planet Hollywood in Capetown killed two people and injured twenty-six.

Bombings continued throughout 1999. These included a car bomb at the V & A Waterfront and three bomb explosions outside police stations. PAGAD was accused of the bombings, though it denied responsibility.

In February 1999, one of the senior investigators of the V & A Waterfront was assassinated on the Cape Flats. Another senior detective investigating urban terror was killed at Cape Town International Airport. PAGAD was suspected of being involved but denied responsibility for both attacks. PAGAD was also suspected of being involved in a bombing on a gay bar and a bombing of a pizza store. PAGAD also denied responsibility for these attacks.

In 2000, PAGAD was suspected of being involved in more bombings. These included a bombing outside a New York Bagel restaurant, a bombing at Cape Town International Airport, and a bombing outside a coffee shop. PAGAD denied responsibility for these attacks.

In 2000, a number of PAGAD members were arrested for various crimes. A magistrate residing over several of the trials was murdered in September 2000, increasing speculation that PAGAD was responsible for the Cape Town bombings.

In late 2000, a number of PAGAD members were found guilty of various crimes, including acts of terrorism, and were sentenced to imprisonment.

In September 2000, Steve Tshwete, the Safety and Security Minister, and Penuell Maduna, the Justice Minister, stated that PAGAD was responsible for the bombings in Cape Town. Tshwete also declared war on PAGAD.

This led to the next stage in PAGAD's evolution as the group expanded its interests beyond just local communities. The focus became on fighting gangsterism and drugs on a larger scale. This included that PAGAD now considered the South African government as a threat to the Muslim communities of Cape Town and adopted an anti-Western philosophy. PAGAD formed an alliance with the extremist Islamic group Qibla, and two groups were established to carry out violent actions. These were named Muslims Against Global Oppression (MAGO) and Muslims Against Illegitimate Leaders.

This led to a series of bombings on targets, including South African authorities, tourist attractions, and businesses in South Africa owned by Westerners.

PHILOSOPHY AND TACTICS

Information on PAGAD suggests that they initially started only with the intention of eliminating gangsterism and drug dealing from their communities. One of their first actions was a march on the government, where they demanded that the government take action against gangsters and drug dealers. At this point in their history, there was no suggestion that their intentions were violent. Instead, their intentions seemed to be to raise awareness about the issue and to push the government into taking action. When the government showed no sign that they would eliminate the problems, PAGAD then started their own system of action designed to limit gangsterism and drug dealing.

Even when these actions started, there were no initial signs that PAGAD intended to be a violent group. Instead, their tactic of marching on the homes of drug dealers and demanding that they stop dealing was a non-violent attempt at influencing the drug dealers. PAGAD's tactics at this point involved rallying in numbers and did not include any acts of violence.

KEY EVENTS

1995:

PAGAD forms as a community-based anti-crime organization.

1996:

PAGAD marched on the parliament, calling on the government to address the problems of gangsterism and drug dealing.

1996:

PAGAD considered that the government was not going to deal with the problems of gangsterism and drug dealing satisfactorily and started their own plan of attack, which involved marching on the houses of known drug dealers.

1996:

Co-leader of the gang the Hard Livings, Rashaad Staggie, was murdered after a PAGAD protest march in Salt River. Later in the month, a member of PAGAD was murdered in what was considered a revenge attack.

1996:

PAGAD members protested near the Cape Town International Airport. The government declared that the protest was illegal and arrested several PAGAD members.

1998:

A bomb explosion at Planet Hollywood in Cape Town killed two people and injured twenty-six. PAGAD was attributed to the bombing, but denied responsibility.

1999–2000:

PAGAD was accused of several bombings, including attacks on American targets. PAGAD denied responsibility for the attacks.

2000:

PAGAD was suspected of forming alliances with extremist Islamic group, Qibla. Incidents attributed to PAGAD included attacks on tourist attractions and Westerners. PAGAD denied responsibility for the attacks.

This history of PAGAD suggests that the group began to change as the gangsters began to retaliate. This is especially related to the death of gangster Rashaad Staggie on August 4, 1996. At this point in PAGAD's history, it was a loosely aligned group with no formal leadership. It is also suggested that while the group was not considered as being a terrorist group, there may have been overlap in that some members may have also been affiliated with the extremist Islamic group, Qibla. While it is not known for certain who was responsible for the death of Rashaad Staggie, it must be noted that even if it was a member of PAGAD or a group of members from PAGAD, this does not mean that the entire PAGAD organization supported the murder. Despite these unanswered questions, the murder sparked retaliation from gangsters and led to an ongoing rivalry.

During these early formation years, members of PAGAD were also increasingly frustrated with the government. Initially, the frustration was based on the government's inability or unwillingness to deal with gangsterism and drug dealing issues. As PAGAD continued its actions, the group became frustrated with the treatment of its members. This included three members of PAGAD being charged with sedition, the government putting up road blocks to prevent PAGAD from marching on a drug dealer's house, and a statement made by the government during PAGAD's march on the Cape Town International Airport that referred to PAGAD as having become gangsters themselves. This led to a situation where PAGAD was considering itself as having to fight against the gangsters, the drug dealers, and the government.

This led to a major change in tactics, with PAGAD becoming increasingly violent in 1997 and 1998. While there was increased violence, PAGAD continue to deny their involvement in attacks on innocent people. However, the years did involve the deaths of thirteen gangsters and drug dealers, as well as attacks on Muslim targets. This suggests that the period involved a war between PAGAD members and gang members.

Speculation also continued about whether all PAGAD members were involved in the violence, or whether some members of PAGAD formed independent extremist units and carried out acts of violence without the knowledge or support of the main group.

This may extend to the various bombings in Cape Town, for which PAGAD continues to deny responsibility. In a report on PAGAD, Bill Dixon and Lisa-Marie Johns interviewed a senior PAGAD member and asked him if PAGAD was involved in the bombing of Planet Hollywood or the bombing at St Elmo's pizzeria. The PAGAD member replied that the group did not do such things, order such things, and that such attacks were not part of the group's agenda. The PAGAD member went on to say that he could not guarantee that the individual or individuals who organized the bombings were not members of PAGAD, since he could not control every member of PAGAD. This response highlights that, while individuals might be members of PAGAD, they do not act only based on their membership of the organization. Individuals may have other affiliations, other agendas, and may be part of attacks not agreed on by the group as a whole.

This suggests that PAGAD as a whole may have maintained its primary mission of eradicating drug dealing and gangsterism in Cape Town. At the same time, some members of PAGAD may have redirected their mission and considered themselves in a war against both the gangsters and the government. Some sources suggest that there has been a split in PAGAD with an extremist offshoot of the main group responsible for the most violent actions.

Speculation also continues about the links between PAGAD and the extremist Islamic group, Qibla. Some sources suggest that PAGAD only claims to exist to fight gangsterism and drugs as a cover for its real purpose, which is to undermine the government and install a Muslim state. It is not known whether PAGAD as a whole has links to Qibla or whether some members have links to Qibla. It is also not known whether it is the members linked to Qibla that are responsible for the bombings.

The Muslims Against Global Oppression (MAGO) is generally accepted as being responsible for the Planet Hollywood bombing, although the group has never claimed responsibility. MAGO has links to PAGAD, though the exact links are unknown. It is speculated that MAGO may be a cover name used by PAGAD or that extremist members of PAGAD may have formed the MAGO group. However, the bombings are thought to have occurred in retaliation for the United States bombing al-Qaeda targets in Afghanistan. This purpose does not link well with PAGAD's usual purpose, adding to speculation that MAGO is a separate group with an entirely different purpose. As noted though, it is possible that there is some overlap in the membership of the two groups.

OTHER PERSPECTIVES

On December 11, 1996, Sydney Mufamadi, the Minister for Safety and Security, issued a statement where he described PAGAD as a drain on police resources. Mufamadi referred to the resources needed to police ongoing marches. Mufamadi also referred to PAGAD members being investigated for crimes, including murder, attempted murder, arson, and unlawful possession of an explosive device. Mufamadi also stated that PAGAD has undermined the ability of the police to deal with drugs and related crime. This statement suggests that PAGAD is indirectly responsible for increasing gang and drug behavior, rather than preventing it.

In a report on PAGAD, Bill Dixon and Lisa-Marie Johns note that it is not clear whether PAGAD are responsible for a series of bombings in Cape Town. According to Bill Dixon and Lisa-Marie Johns, the group has not shown great concern about the death of gang leaders but has repeatedly condemned attacks on civilian targets. Bill Dixon and Lisa-Marie Johns also describe government ministers as being quick to blame PAGAD for various attacks, while noting that it is not possible to prove that they were involved. This suggests that the authors' view that PAGAD may have continued its operations only for the purpose of targeting drug dealers.

PRIMARY SOURCE
People Against Gangsterism and Drugs (PAGAD)

DESCRIPTION

People Against Gangsterism and Drugs (PAGAD) and its ally Qibla (an Islamic fundamentalist group that favors political Islam and takes an anti-US and anti-Israel stance) view the South African Government as a threat to Islamic values. The two groups work to promote a greater political voice for South African Muslims. PAGAD has used front names such as Muslims Against Global Oppression and Muslims Against Illegitimate Leaders when launching anti-Western protests and campaigns.

ACTIVITIES

PAGAD formed in November 1995 as a vigilante group in reaction to crime in some neighborhoods of Cape Town. In September 1996, a change in the group's leadership resulted in a change in the group's goal, and it began to support a violent jihad to establish an Islamic state. Between 1996 and 2000, PAGAD conducted a total of 189 bomb attacks, including nine bombings in the Western Cape that caused serious injuries. PAGAD's targets included South African authorities, moderate Muslims, synagogues, gay nightclubs, tourist attractions, and West-ern-associated restaurants. PAGAD is believed to have masterminded the bombing on August 25, 1998, of the Cape Town Planet Hollywood. Since 2001, PAGAD's violent activities have been severely curtailed by law enforcement and prosecutorial efforts against leading members of the organization. Qibla leadership has organized demonstrations against visiting U.S. dignitaries and other protests, but the extent of PAGAD's involvement is uncertain.

STRENGTH

Early estimates were several hundred members. Current operational strength is unknown, but probably vastly diminished.

LOCATION/AREA OF OPERATION

Operates mainly in the Cape Town area.

EXTERNAL AID

May have ties to international Islamic extremists.

Source: U.S. Department of State. Country Reports on Terrorism. Washington, D.C., 2004.

An article on BBC News on September 13, 2000, questions whether PAGAD is a vigilante group or a terrorist group. The article notes that PAGAD started with good intentions, with residents taking peaceful actions aimed at discouraging drug dealers. The article then describes the attack on Planet Hollywood, stating that the attack was blamed on Muslim fundamentalist groups with links to PAGAD. This statement suggests that the groups having links to PAGAD does not necessarily mean that the attack was asked for or condoned by PAGAD. The article finished by stating that PAGAD has denied responsibility for the attacks and said that it does not condone violence. While no final answer is given as to whether PAGAD is a terrorist group, the article does raise questions about the legitimacy of claims that PAGAD is responsible for terrorist bombings.

SUMMARY

In a report on PAGAD and violence in the Cape Town area, Bill Dixon and Lisa-Marie Johns state that the prospects for breaking the cycle of violence are bleak. They also note that the distrust and sour relations between groups, including PAGAD, the government, and gang members, are likely to continue.

In 2000, many members of PAGAD were convicted of crimes and imprisoned. This reduced the strength of the group and it has not been involved in major acts of violence since. However, PAGAD is still classified as a terrorist organization by the governments of South Africa and by the United States of America.

SOURCES

Books

Africa, C., J. Christie, R. Mattes, M. Roefs, and H. Taylor. Crime and Community Action: Pagad and the Cape Flats, 1996–1997. Cape Town: Public Opinion Service, Institute for Democracy in South Africa, 1998.

Dixon, B. and L. Johns. Gangs, PAGAD & the State: Vigilantism and Revenge Violence in the Western Cape. Cape Town: Center for the Study of Violence and Reconciliation, 2001.

Web sites

BBC News. "PAGAD: Vigilantes or Terrorists?" 〈http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/africa/923701.stm〉 (accessed October 19, 2005).

Ministry for Safety and Security, South African Government. "Media Statement by Mr. Sydney Mufamadi, Minister for Safety and Security, Pretoria, 11 December 1996." 〈http://www.info.gov.za/speeches/1996/12170x86496.htm〉 (accessed October 19, 2005).