How secret communication and codes run prison's Numbers gang

The Numbers gang has its own parliament, economy, court and punishment, but what is crucial in gang life is Sabela, the secret language used to identify a member.

This was found in a master’s research study at the University of Cape Town by Heinrich Veloen, a unit manager at the department of correctional services with 29 years’ experience at Pollsmoor Correctional Centre.

He studied the structures of the hierarchal 26, 27 and 28 gangs and how they have operated and evolved in all prisons.

“Prison language in South Africa has its roots in codes and secret communication that allowed criminals to communicate in privacy. The reason is so correctional officials [do] not understand when they communicate with each other,” said Veloen.

But Sabela is one of the first things a newcomer has to memorise, as well as the “unwritten book” on the gang’s code of conduct.

For example, a recruitment process would involve a “draad’” and “glas” informing the “general” that: “Hom general, kom vol soos nou, dit is die jaar dat ons sal dorp toe gaan op n nompangela van n nood nommer.”

This means they need permission from the general for recruitment. Veloen explained a “glas” refers to spectacles or binoculars and is the person who sees and notes what is going on in the prison and the gang. “A “draad’” means a wire. These people are important to communicate and send messages, he said.

Symbols, gestures, signs and tattoos are also part of the code, including non-verbal communication such as facial expressions and posture. For example, each Numbers gang has its own salute to greet each other. The 28 salute with a thumb, the index and middle finger, the 27 with the thumb and index finger and the 26 with a raised thumb.

One of the research respondents said it was important to know how to salute a member from another gang as a sign of respect.

“I first greet him with his gang sign, followed by my gang sign, meaning I recognise him, then identify myself to him.”

Gang tattoos give information on affiliation, status and skills to other members of the prison population. Each member is obliged to have a tattoo of the number of the gang they are affiliated with.

Those with facial tattoos are seen as more verbally aggressive and rebellious than other members.

A member with a spider web tattooed on his left cheek says it signifies he is the investigation officer of the 27 gang: “I can trap those who want to infiltrate the gang.”

Words tattooed at the end of the eyelids indicate the member would commit crime until “he finally closed his eyes”.

But not all former inmates are proud of their “brandmark”, the research found.

“Participants explained visible tattoos become an obstacle to reintegration and for seeking employment when outside. Once the sentence is served, some interviewees regretted having the tattoos,” said Veloen.

“While Sabela could be relegated to slang status, the linguistic identity of Sabela hinges around non-linguistic features, such as body language, hand signs and so on, which lend stability to the code since its origin in the mining industry in the late 1800s.”

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