Watch – Cape Town's accusation collision: JP Smith, gang boss accused Ralph Stanfield and the cops
A raid on Cape Town's city offices, a high-stakes investigation, and political accusations. Is it a criminal probe or a political attack? At the heart: murders with suspected ties to the notorious 28s gang. Daily Maverick's Caryn Dolley explains.
Reporting by: Caryn Dolley
Produced by: Emilie Gambade
Edited by: Rufaro Chiswo
Filmed by: Bernard Kotze
Sub-edited by: Caspar Greeff
Caryn Dolley is an award-winning journalist and author. She has covered organised crime in South Africa for nearly two decades, exposing how the country fits into the global criminal landscape, how gangsters appear to have infiltrated aspects of private security, and how politics, rogue intelligence, and state corruption are infused in these noxious arenas. Despite threats to her safety, she remains committed to uncovering the truth and bringing it to the public.
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Daily Maverick
7 hours ago
- Daily Maverick
E-hailing drivers demand action over frozen licence approvals while impoundment fees soar
E-hailing drivers in Cape Town are considering legal action after the City froze licence approvals, leaving them vulnerable to having their vehicles impounded. E-hailing drivers are up in arms over the City of Cape Town freezing the approval of additional licences since the end of March, when the City claimed it had met its 'full allowed quota' of 3,354 licences. It had received more than 14,000 applications. The City and Western Cape Mobility Department, community and industry groups have been meeting to determine the next steps, with drivers complaining that they have to pay exorbitant impoundment fees for operating without licences. Looking forward, Councillor Rob Quintas, a member of the City's Mayoral Committee for Urban Mobility, told Daily Maverick: 'The revised supply and demand for metered taxi services, which includes e-hailing, has been determined. 'The City will be presenting the revised metered taxi supply and demand numbers at a Special Metered Taxi Intermodal Planning Sub-Committee meeting on 17 June 2025, and will make this information available to the public.' Western Cape Mobility Department spokesperson Muneera Allie said: 'Once approval is given (to the Permit Regulatory Entity by the City for additional applicants), and a quota is determined… applications will be handled on a first-come-first-served basis.' E-hailing drivers are required to have an operating licence or risk their cars being impounded by the City, due to an amendment to the National Land Transport Act signed in June 2024. If there is a continued shortage of operating licences, the Western Cape E-Hailing Association (WCEA) is considering taking the Western Cape Permit Regulatory Entity and City of Cape Town to court to call for a pause on impoundments until the permitting system is reformed. A court ruled in favor of e-hailing drivers in a similar case in Pretoria. There, drivers proved it was 'impossible' to obtain a permit due to City backlogs. The association also calls on the regulatory entity to stop taking applications and application fees before new permits open up. Quintas clarified: 'Legally, the regulatory entity cannot refuse to accept applications even if the upper limit of the City's supply and demand numbers have been saturated already. Therefore, the operators apply at their own risk.' The 'trauma' of impoundment Drivers in Cape Town have been feeling the impact of impoundments as the City stalls in approving new operating licences. The impoundment fees are high. One driver, who wished to remain anonymous for fear of being blocked from driving, said: 'The fees were R7,500, R2,500, and R1,000 — totalling R11,000 in one go. The car is financed, and once it was impounded, I couldn't make the instalment, couldn't pay for the business insurance, and couldn't raise money to get the car released. It's a trauma I can never forget.' According to the City of Cape Town's website: 'The impoundment fee is for the initial storage, hooking, salvaging and administration costs for the vehicle's impoundment… The fee increases for first, second and third offences.' In addition, drivers must pay for any outstanding fines before receiving their vehicle. Immediately, drivers feel the impact of impoundment. A driver said: 'I was impounded at 8.45am, 15km away from home, with no money on me. I had to walk home through unsafe areas. The police don't care how you get back — they just take your car… Where is the dignity?' In the long term, these fees can be devastating. According to the Deputy Secretary-General of the Western Cape E-hailing Association, Yusuf Dahir, a driver who works for 12 hours a day (the maximum allowed for Uber) earns approximately R1,000/day or R7,000/week. An estimated 80 to 90% of drivers do not own their vehicles. In general, R2,000-R3,000 of their weekly income goes to rent or weekly commission for the vehicle and R2,000 goes to petrol, leaving drivers with about R2,000 to take home at the end of the week. With this reality, the R10,000 impoundment fee is enormous. Drivers recognise that operating without licences is unlawful. Another driver said, 'All we ask is for the City of Cape Town to allow us to apply for e-hailing permits — and approve them. We want to feed our families through honest work.' But drivers are frustrated at the inability to acquire the necessary legal permits, and increasingly feel that the City is using them as a cash cow to collect impoundment fees. At the same time, Uber, Bolt, and other e-hailing services continue to allow new drivers to join the platforms, further allowing the cycle to continue. 'Equitable balance' According to the Mobility Department's Allie, the number of permits allotted in the quota is determined to 'ensure an equitable balance between the demand and supply of metered taxi and e-hailing services'. While applications may be accepted, the regulatory entity has informed applicants that operating licences may only be issued once approval for additional applications is received. According to Maxine Bezuidenhout, the spokesperson for the City of Cape Town's Traffic Services, 42 e-hailing vehicles were impounded in April 2025, and 45 had been impounded by 30 May. Drivers can request reimbursement for the impoundment fees from Uber, but still have to pay the fee up front. Dahir says it often takes days, if not weeks, for Uber to pay out. 'It is likely they will not reimburse.' Dahir also shared concerns about how Uber gathers funds for the impoundment fees. Dahir claimed the money did not come out of pocket for Uber. Instead, according to the drivers, Uber deducted additional fees — beyond its commission — from the driver before their cars were impounded, and used that money to reimburse them for the impoundment fees. For example, according to the drivers, there were additional, 'ever-increasing' fees for accepting rides to, and pick-ups from, airports and unexplained additional deductions at the end of trips. In short, they claimed that Uber was not really paying for the impoundment fees, but rather taking it from the driver in advance through these fees. Uber 'aware of challenges' When asked directly about how the reimbursement process worked, an Uber South Africa spokesperson said in a statement: 'Uber would like to refute the claims made by the drivers. We unequivocally maintain that these claims are unfounded.' In addition, the spokesperson said: 'Uber is aware of the challenges drivers are facing in Cape Town and remains committed to supporting them while engaging relevant stakeholders. Our goal is to ensure a sustainable and inclusive approach to mobility that supports both economic opportunity and safe, reliable transport options in Cape Town.' In response to an inquiry from Daily Maverick that Uber seems to be supporting drivers operating without licences by offering to pay their impoundment fees, Quintas responded: 'Paying someone else's fine or impoundment fee is not necessarily the illegal act.' Further, Quintas appeared to defend Uber and Bolt's practice of onboarding and recruiting new drivers without the possibility of permits being granted. He said: 'E-hailing platform providers have over the years marketed their services to operators and drivers without making an operating licence a compulsory requirement to operate on their platforms. Thus, they onboard operators/drivers and allow them to operate without having a valid operating licence… It seems to be a universal practice by all e-hailing platforms to onboard operators without operating licences.'
Daily Maverick
7 hours ago
- Daily Maverick
Mthatha campus erupts as students rally against bail for accused in deadly protest shooting
'(Manelisi) Mampane should have stayed in jail for the rest of his life because the child that he killed will not come back,' said a student. Students at Walter Sisulu University and their parents are protesting at the university's Mthatha campus against the release of residence manager Manelisi Mampane (54), who is accused of shooting dead Sisonke Mbolekwa (24) and injuring two students during a protest in April over housing conditions. Mampane was arrested on 17 April 2025 in Mthatha. He has been charged with murder and attempted murder, and was released on bail of R10,000 at Mthatha Magistrate's Court on Tuesday, 3 June 2025. This has led to anger and frustration for students and their parents. According to the students, Mampane should have stayed in prison, and bail should not have been granted. 'Mampane should have stayed in jail for the rest of his life because the child that he killed will not come back,' said a student at the protest who wished to remain anonymous. Ayabonga Ndzumo, the mother of Lizwa Ndzumo, one of the two students who were shot and injured, told Daily Maverick that she had also joined the protest, and that the police were shooting teargas at them. The spokesperson for the Mbolekwa family, Ncedo Kolanisi, who spoke with Newzroom Afrika on Tuesday, said: 'We are shocked; we saw signs of the magistrate being biased. My suspicions are certain fans of the accused have got to him… He ignored that Lizwa cannot move freely as a student of Walter Sisulu..,' said Kolanisi. Another student at the university, Oneltiha Mbonana, told Daily Maverick that Mampane should not have received bail. '…Now students decided to protest and close the school; they got arrested or died. This is a court matter and students choose to close the N2,' said Mbonana. The South African Police Service (SAPS) has deployed police to the institution, and three students have been arrested, and they will be facing charges of public violence, damage to infrastructure and damage to property. 'The Acting Provincial Commissioner of the Eastern Cape, Major-General Thandiswa Kupiso, stated: 'We appeal for calm as we patiently allow legal processes to unfold. We encourage those who are aggrieved to channel grievances through lawful avenues.' Major-General Kupiso appealed to the students to honor the victim's memory through constructive, non-violent means, ' read an SAPS media statement released on Wednesday morning. According to SAPS Brigadier Nobuntu Gantana the murder investigation remained active, had been prioritised, and was ongoing. The SAPS said it would continue to collaborate closely with the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) to pursue justice through legal channels. The protest is ongoing. Daily Maverick reached out to Walter Sisulu University for comment, and we will update the article once this is received or more information is available. DM
TimesLIVE
17 hours ago
- TimesLIVE
Western Cape gangs recruit 12-year-olds, fuelling rise in child murders
Children are also used as shooters, as impressionable youngsters keen to prove themselves are often more easily influenced to carry out acts of violence. 'Craven Engel, a pastor who runs Ceasefire, a gang violence prevention organisation, described a 12-year-old boy he had assisted, who had been recruited as a gunman for the Only the Family gang, as 'brainwashed to kill people',' the report reads. 'Many sources report that these younger gangs are in fact more reckless and aggressive than previous generations, as they are less familiar with the codes of conduct that — at times — regulate and control violence. This, in turn, has contributed to the higher rates of child murder, with children increasingly becoming both perpetrators and victims.' The report said another sign of rising child recruitment into gangs is the growing number of children getting into trouble with the law. Magistrates and court officials have noticed more children being charged with gang-related crimes, such as drug possession, murder, attempted murder, robbery, sexual offences, and assault. The GI-TOC also reported that feared alleged 28s street gang boss Ralph Stanfield had been inducted into the prison gang. According to the report, Stanfield, arrested in 2023 on multiple charges, used his reputation to quickly enter the 28s prison gang — a rare achievement in South African prisons. Charges against Stanfield and his wife, Nicole, in a R1bn Cape Town housing corruption case were recently provisionally withdrawn. 'During his incarceration, he has managed to bypass the customary years-long progression through the hierarchical structure of the Numbers, one of the world's oldest prison gang cultures, to become an ndota [member of a prison gang],' the report reads.
