Beyond Confinement: Cape Gangsters and the Sub-Saharan Trade of Stolen Electronics

Abstract

ABSTRACT Instead of being perceived as confined to oppressive spaces in South Africa, detached from mainstream society, in this article I show that gangsters in Cape Town have harnessed liberalisation since the 1990s to become players in the market economy. This is illustrated by means of two criminal practices that support the illicit trade in electronics: residential burgling and transnational smuggling. By tracing the circulation of stolen electronics, gangsters and their migrant collaborators are shown to use flexible procedures to prevent detection and custody. These procedures capitalise on the changes brought by liberalisation, allowing for the efficient flow of electronics consignments to distant African cities and villages. It is argued that thinking through these procedures allows for a nuanced understanding of contemporary gang dynamics beyond confinement.