History & Politics

• Champion and the ICU • Architecture • Badsha Pir Shrine • The gangs • Group Areas Act

The Gangs

A number of gangs operated in the Grey Street area.The Salot gang reportedly controlled the taxi rank near Kapitan′s Balcony Hotel. The Crimson League often operated from the area around Simon′s Cafe and the Young Generations operated in the Beatrice Street area. Sherrif Khan, before he moved to Johannesburg, was one of the gangsters of the Grey Street area. A gang member who ran a stall at the Victoria Street Market even had the nickname "Sheephead Daddy" and an interviewee recounted that "He cut sheep heads by day and people′s heads by night". In spite of the number of gangs that operated in the area, residents were seldom harrassed by gang members. Rather, the gangs fought wars against rival gangs for control over territory as well as over various illicit enterprises. The Grey Street area was the scene of "taxi wars" in the 1950s, in which the gangs were involved.