Unpacking the intricacies of extortion crime in South African townships
Abstract
South Africa grapples with a significant crime problem characterised by high rates of violent crime, robbery, murder, and sexual violence, propelled by socio-economic factors and structural dynamics of the country. These crimes are particularly rife in the townships where structural constraints rooted in sociohistorical and ongoing injustices fuel them. This article examines a relatively unacknowledged criminal economy, extortion, which has permeated South African townships over the last decade, affecting businesses, particularly those in the retail and construction industries. Drawing upon decolonial and critical paradigms, we argue that the thriving extortion economies in the townships are a consequence of the legacies of the apartheid era and a departure from the radical and social welfare agenda of the African National Congress (ANC). Additionally, we conceptually frame extortion that affects businesses with apartheid links in the townships as a requital for years of overconcentration of disadvantage in these townships.
Keywords: gang violence, extortion, inequality, apartheid, South Africa
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