The Numbers gang secret prison language is known as “Sabela” or ” Tsotsi taal”.
Today, the Numbers gang remains one of the most prominent prison gangs in South Africa, and is known for extreme violence and involvement in drug trafficking, extortion, and murder.
The Numbers gang is made up of three sub-gangs, each of which has its own distinct language.
The 26s use a language that is heavily influenced by Afrikaans, while the 27s use a language that incorporates Zulu and Xhosa words.
The 28s, the largest of the sub-gangs, use a language that is a combination of Afrikaans, English, and Xhosa.
The use of this secret language is not only a means of communication, but also serves as a way for members of the Numbers gang to identify and protect each other.
The Number gang operates according to a strict hierarchy, with new members required to go through a violent initiation process and swear loyalty to the gang. The use of the secret language helps to reinforce the gang’s sense of community and solidarity in a harsh and violent prison environment.
The use of a secret language by the Numbers gangs can be traced to the Colonial Apartheid era where the Numbers gangs developed a secret language as a means of subverting the authority of Prison Authorities to enable free communication within Prisons as a form of anti-colonial resistance.
Thus the use of secret language by the Numbers gang in Prison is believed to have originated as a way for the Numbers gang to communicate with each other without being understood by prison authorities.
For this reason, Tsotsi taal prison gang language involves the use of slang, code words, and hand signals that are only known to members of the Numbers gang.
In time, the Numbers Gang secret prison language evolved into a mechanism by which the Numbers Gang members could distinguish themselves from other Prisoners which enforced a new Hierarchy amongst Prisoners which has resulted in Numbers Gang members who can speak the secret prison language of the Numbers Gangs wielding more power and privileges in prison than those Prisoners that do not belong to the Numbers gangs.
As such, the initial Political origins and intent of the secret prison language of the Numbers gangs has largely been lost in modern day South African Prisons because the members of the Numbers gangs that can speak the secret prison language are in control of the prison economy which includes drug smuggling, protection fees and the selling of privileges like ciggarettes, beds, food and blankets.
Conclusion
In conclusion, the use of a secret prison language by the Numbers gang is a product of South Africa’s colonial past.
While the secret language of the Numbers Gang in Prison initially served as a means of communication, solidarity and Political resistance, today it reinforces a Prison hierarchy and culture of violence and discrimination amongst Prison inmates in South Africa where the speakers of the secret language of the Prison gangs occupy a position in the Prison hierarchy that enables them to extract from other prisoners in order to make a living in prison in a way that those who do not belong to the Numbers gangs and cannot speak the secret language of the Numbers gang cannot.
