Organised Crime in Johannesburg

On the 1st of December, at around 3pm we headed towards Ellis Park for the 46664 concert. Within a very short space of time the following happened:

- we were herded by a flock of youths wearing orange 'Crime Stop' jackets
- within a few hundred metres of a traffic light three black men approached my car (I was idling beside the sidewalk, waiting for a friend to catch up). The hair's on the back of my neck went up. They really appeared poised to strike, as they had stepped off the sidewalk, and were about a foot away from the passenger window. Unluckily for them there were no cars in front of me and none behind. After a few seconds they crossed the road.
- Not 200 metres further a car overtook another car around a blind corner. I hit the brakes, coming to a sudden, dead stop, so suddenly that the engine died - and the passing car just missed me.
- having found a parking place, a black man approached me and sternly said: "I told you to park there. You must park there now."

He was wearing an orange 'Crime Stop' plastic jacket. His attitude was aggressive and gruff. I told him I could park where I liked. He then handed me a ticket instructing me to pay him R50, and in capitalletters: Pay NOW!
I asked my buddy if he had paid and he replied with a snigger: "Are you kidding? Give this guy R50 so he can walk away and soon as we're gone and have a few beers."

On the way to Ellis Park I saw rats running along the pavement, the smell of human excrement and ganja, and in a drain in a road (the metal plate had been removed) someone had disposed of a computer. I was worried about walking back along this route at midnight after the concert, and I was concerned that my car would be waiting for me minus radio, wheels and engine.

When I did return - mercifully a blonde lady gave us a lift back - the car was in one piece, and our guard had, suprise surprise, disappeared. In his place was a pushy fellow who harassed us all the way to the car. He got R2 and change for his trouble.

Why do I say organised crime? Because the strategy to bully someone to pay you R50 essentially for nothing, and having photocopied tokens, is obviously organised, as well as having a team of guys direct traffic. Also the 'Crime Stop' jackets had to be procured from somewhere. Quite ironic: 'Crime Stop'. Ja, where the crime stops the extortion starts.

The attempt to get to Ellis Park that Saturday is by far the scariest experience I've had since moving to Johannesburg in late July.

To put into perspective how nuts the situation is: imagine a lot of traffic is moving along a highway near your home. The people in these cars are of a different race to you for the most part; perhaps Asians or hispanics. You go out of your house, angrily shout at them telling them where to park in your own street, and demand immediate payment. It's crazy.