9 Shocking Events That Shaped The Rise And Fall of PAGAD

If you’ve been following the news from the Cape Flats lately, you know how often communities are stepping up to do what they believe the police aren’t doing.

 

Just last year, a video made the rounds online showing a man, allegedly involved in the shooting of a 15-year-old girl, being attacked by locals. Then, earlier this year in February, a father was shot dead at his son’s funeral in Ravensmead. Moments after the shooting, community members took it upon themselves to deliver their own justice by beating the shooter to death. 

 

The truth is, when you live in a community that feels neglected by the police, things can get out of hand. The gangs are everywhere, drugs flood the streets, and the boere don’t seem to be doing enough to stop it. Mense feel like they have to protect their homes, and if that means taking matters into their own hands, so be it.

 

Before mob justice became a thing, there was a group that stirred the pot: People Against Gangsterism and Drugs (PAGAD).

 

PAGAD was born in 1996, as a group pushing for stronger action against drugs and gangsters. It started as peaceful demonstrations, but as things got worse and the police seemed powerless, PAGAD felt they had no choice but to take action. They didn’t just protest—they went after the criminals directly. Burning down drug houses, attacking gangsters, and even killing suspected criminals became part of their strategy. PAGAD didn’t just want to end the drug trade; they were ready to fight fire with fire.

 

In the eyes of the South African government and police, PAGAD’s actions quickly went from “activism” to something much darker. Soon, they were labeled a terrorist group, adding another layer of chaos to an already chaotic situation.

 

In this blog, we’ll go through 5 shocking events that shaped PAGAD’s journey—from a group hoping to clean up the streets to one that became a feared name in the battle for control over the Cape Flats.

 

The Murder of Rashaad Staggie

 

One of the first events that made people sit up and pay attention to PAGAD was the killing of Rashaad Staggie, leader of the infamous Hard Livings gang. PAGAD arranged a huge march, expecting to send a message, but things took a deadly turn. They set him on fire, shot him, and left his body to burn. While PAGAD leaders later said they only meant to “warn” him, no one really bought that story. The killing shocked the country and showed that PAGAD’s way of dealing with crime had turned dangerously violent.

 

The Planet Hollywood Bombing

 

If the killing of Staggie shocked Cape Town, the Planet Hollywood bombing in 1998 left everyone stunned. A bomb went off in the popular restaurant, killing two people and injuring many others, some of whom suffered life-changing injuries. The attack was a wake-up call for the city — no longer was PAGAD just about street justice; they were now terrorising innocent people with bomb blasts. Even the FBI got involved in the investigation.

 

New Leaders, New Direction

 

After the chaos of the late-90s, changes started happening within PAGAD that would shift the entire direction of the group. Radical Islamic groups like Qibla gained more influence, bringing in new leadership that was more focused on religion than on fighting crime. What started as a broad movement to fight gangsterism became smaller, more organized, and a lot more intense. These new leaders tightened their grip on the group, and soon, PAGAD wasn’t just about taking down criminals—it became about pushing a radical agenda

 

 

The Assassination of Farouk Jaffer

 

Farouk Jaffer, one of the founding members of PAGAD, became a target after he was kicked out of the group in 1996. Rumours spread that Jaffer had turned against PAGAD, working with the National Intelligence Agency (NIA). Shortly after, he was found dead in a suspected assassination. Whether he betrayed them or not, the fact that he ended up dead near his home showed how deep the internal struggles went. 

 

PAGAD Members Sentenced to Life

 

By 1999, the law had finally caught up with PAGAD. A number of members were caught and sentenced to life in prison for their involvement in several murders. Mansoer Leggett received 11 life sentences for a string of murders he committed in just a few months. Other members, like Ebrahim Jeneker, Abdullah Maansdorp, and Moegamat Isaacs, were also convicted for the brutal 1999 killings of a mother and her two relatives. These sentences were a clear message: PAGAD’s reign of terror could not last forever. The group had crossed so many lines that the law had no choice but to step in and stop them.

 

The Wynberg Synagogue Bombing

 

In 1999, PAGAD took aim at a synagogue in Wynberg, Cape Town. The group was protesting against the U.S. bombing of Iraq. Though the explosion didn’t cause any casualties, it shattered stained-glass windows and showed that PAGAD’s violence wasn’t just aimed at drug dealers but extended to anyone they viewed as part of the problem. The original target was a synagogue in Sea Point, but it had better security at the time.

 

Attacks on Gay Bars

 

In 2000, a splinter group of PAGAD, known as PAPAS (People Against Prostitution and Sodomy), was allegedly behind a series of bombings at gay bars in Cape Town. The Bronx bar in Green Point was one of the targets, and the blast injured five people. This attack brought attention to the group’s increasing focus on moral issues, like their strong opposition to the LGBTQ+ community.

 

Magistrate Pieter Theron’s Murder

 

In 2000, PAGAD’s violent streak continued when court magistrate Pieter Theron was killed in a drive-by shooting. Theron had been involved in cases concerning PAGAD members who had been injured in a botched bombing. The murder of a judge who had dealt with PAGAD cases raised the stakes even higher and showed just how far the group was willing to go to protect their members and their secrets.

 

PAGAD Today

 

These days, PAGAD is still around, but it’s not the force it once was. The group holds small marches and gatherings, though they don’t attract the same attention they once did. In 2014, they tried to stage a comeback with marches that even got support from the Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF). However, the group’s influence is a shadow of what it used to be.

About The Author