The prison Number gangs are so cruel that sometimes a father kills his own son or the son kills his father and there are many children who grow up without fathers because of “this Number we believe in”, said former leader of the 28s gang Ernest “Ernie Lastig” Solomon in a video clip that was recorded before his murder.

The car of murdered Ernest Solomon after gunmen shot and killed him in Boksburg, Gauteng on 20 November 2020. (Photo supplied)

In the video, he explains the Number gangs are the 26s, 27s and 28s who control the prisons. 

In other parts of South Africa the Royal Africa 23s are also a prison Number gang and their speciality is escaping from prison and duplicating the keys of prison doors.

A Ford Ranger was used to force the BMW of Ernest Solomon off the road in Boksburg, Gauteng on 20 November 2020. (Photo supplied)

Solomon was gunned down on Friday 20 November in Boksburg, Gauteng. His car was forced off the road by the driver of a Ford Ranger and then gunmen in that vehicle fired several shots into Solomon’s BMW. 

Sources close to the investigation told Maverick Citizen the gunmen fired into the roof of Solomon’s car because they probably thought the car had been bulletproofed. Solomon had no chance to escape, unlike six months ago when he survived a botched attack at his premises in Hawston.

The 28s are known for sodomising new inmates in prison. (Photo supplied)

The hit on Solomon was similar to the one carried out on 9 April 2019 in Gauteng on Serbian national Ivan Djordjevic, when gunmen fired shots through the roof of Djordjevic’s bulletproof Mercedes-Benz. 

In the video, Solomon said: “The Number is like a germ. It comes into you when you are in prison. We all got it in us. I also got the germ in me. People die every day because of this story of the Number. This cut in my face, I got because of the Number. I was very young and didn’t know what the Number really means to me.

The 27s play a mediating role to resolve disputes between gangs in prisons. (Photo supplied)

“Now I must try to make it right for my people or my next generations before I’m not in this world any more. I’m 54 years old and all the years of my life I was losing friends and those friends were like my brothers and like my children. When they died I felt it in my heart but I never thought of the day when I’m going to die.” 

Solomon, who was in the 28s for 37 years, said the Number is the reason why the graveyards are full of youngsters. 

The 26s gang looks after the interest members inside prisons. (Photo supplied)

“When you are out of the Number, stay out. Your own brothers are going to kill you because of your reputation you built. That’s why I’m here and this is part of my medicine I want to give to you as my friends and my brothers in the Number. Be careful, you are going to kill your family and your own community and after that your own brothers are going to kill you,” he warned.

A former high-ranking 28s member, speaking on condition of anonymity, said it was crucial for Number “generals” in prison to determine whether the hit on Solomon was called from inside prison. If this was the case, it could result in a bloody war inside prison. If the hit was ordered from outside prison there would be retaliation on the streets in gang-ravaged areas on the Cape Flats, he added.

“There is only one way out of the Number and that is if you become converted. But it doesn’t mean you are totally out of the woods. Once outside, that converted person will be tempted on a daily basis to hide, for example, drugs,” said the former 28s member. 

“This is all part of the test to see if this gang member’s sudden turnaround is genuine. If that former gang member succumbs to the temptations he will be taken out. Remember, those [who are] part of the prison Number walk around with their prison secrets and will be watched 24/7 once outside prison to make sure that person doesn’t spill the beans.” 

He said corrupt correctional officers are part of a lucrative business inside prison.

A criminology expert said the Number gangs are omnipresent in the Cape Flats and are increasing inside prison.

“The increase in inmates has given the Number [the opportunity] to recruit more and more youngsters into the system. So many people are inside prison that it actually helped the Number. Gangs in prison have also become more organised and have adapted to the Fourth Industrial Revolution.” 

A prisoners’ rights organisation working with inmates in prisons said: “We have seen the terrible trauma and devastation caused by brutalisation of people in prison, very often by, or in the prison gangs and certainly by other actors, staff and inmates, aspects of the prison system… such as overcrowding and lack of healthcare.”

Meanwhile, a prominent leader of the Americans gang, operating in Bonteheuwel, was arrested on Tuesday 24 November in connection with a drive-by shooting in Stock Road in Kalksteenfontein. A 35-year-old man was wounded in the shoulder.

Police said the incident happened on Sunday 22 November. The victim was with friends when a white Nissan stopped and without any warning the occupant(s) fired shots at them. Police said the attack was gang-related.

Bishop Lavis Community Policing Forum chairperson Graham Lindhorst said: “We are not of the view this incident is part of the incident regarding ‘Ernie Lastig’, although we cannot rule it out. We do suspect there is a big possibility that the issue of ‘Ernie Lastig’ can spill over to our areas and therefore we are quite vigilant in terms of making sure we are not caught off guard.” DM/MC