Extortion Hits the Classroom: How South Africa’s New Mafia Is Targeting Schools

A growing criminal network is turning South African classrooms into danger zones and teachers are paying the price.

What used to be whispered in dark corners has now become shockingly clear: South African schools are the latest frontier for organised crime. No longer content with construction sites, taxi routes or tender deals, mafia-style syndicates have found a new target our children’s schools and their teachers.

In some townships, gangsters are demanding “protection fees” as high as 10% of teachers’ salaries. In others, staff are threatened, robbed, and intimidated into silence. This isn’t a movie plot, it’s the new, terrifying reality facing educators across the country.

From the streets to the school gates

The Eastern Cape, one of South Africa’s most under-resourced provinces, has become a hotbed for this new school-based extortion. At the end of 2024, Basic Education Minister Siviwe Gwarube sounded the alarm after disturbing reports emerged from her provincial visits.

One such case unfolded at Efata School for the Blind, where extortionists demanded R50,000 from a school nurse. When he refused, they brazenly walked away with his phone, laptop, and television. Their message was clear: pay up, or pay the price.

But this criminal pattern isn’t limited to one province. In Cape Town’s Phillipi East, terrified teachers from Zanemfundo Primary were told to fork over 10% of their monthly pay or face the consequences. Classes were cancelled. Teachers took shelter in district offices. The Education Department was alerted, and police were informed. Still, nothing changed.

“We know who they are,” one teacher told GroundUp. “So does the community. But the police? Nothing.”

Extortion becomes routine and the police remain silent

South Africa has over 24,000 schools, yet only 2,000 police stations. The odds were never in educators’ favour. But what’s striking is the scale of fear and the apparent collapse in accountability. Teachers are being hunted by criminals they recognise, yet law enforcement often stays on the sidelines, citing privacy protocols and incomplete investigations.

Meanwhile, Minister Gwarube has gone public with her frustrations. She says we can’t just keep reacting to tragedies after the fact. “We can’t keep visiting grieving families,” she said. “We need a real, coordinated plan.”

That plan has arrived in the form of a five-year crime-fighting partnership between SAPS and the Basic Education Department. Police Minister Senzo Mchunu promises that extortionists will “face the full force of the law.” But for many on the ground, it still feels like too little, too late.

Red zones and real fear

As part of the new protocol, authorities have identified 283 “red zone” schools where crime is out of control. Police visibility will increase during morning drop-offs and afternoon pick-ups. Targeted search-and-seizure operations will be launched when there’s suspicion of weapons or drugs.

However, Gwarube is careful not to overreach. “We don’t want to turn our schools into police barracks,” she said. “But we do have to protect our learners and teachers.”

The Department is also calling on parents, community forums, and educators to join local safety committees—an effort to build resilience from the ground up.

A system cracking under pressure

According to Ian Cameron of Parliament’s Portfolio Committee on Police, this school extortion crisis didn’t come out of nowhere. It’s a symptom of broader lawlessness.

“What started as isolated shakedowns in construction and transport has now metastasised into something much more dangerous,” he said. “It’s a leviathan now. And it’s targeting the places that should be safest.”

Classrooms are no place for gang politics

South Africa is facing an education emergency that has nothing to do with test scores or textbooks. Schools are being pulled into the orbit of organised crime, and unless serious consequences are enforced, criminals will continue to exploit these soft targets.

For now, parents, teachers and communities must remain alert, united, and relentless in pushing for safer schools. Because no one should have to pay to teach or to learn.

{Source: BusinessTech}

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