Here is the Cape Town underworld laid bare, explored through the characters who control the “protection” industry: the bouncers and security at nightclubs and strip clubs.
At the centre of this turf war is Nafiz Modack, the latest kingpin to have seized control of the industry - a man often in court on various charges, including extortion.
Investigative journalist Caryn Dolley has followed Modack and his predecessors for six years, as power has shifted in the nightclub security industry. She focuses on how closely connected the criminal underworld is with the police.
In this suspenseful page-turner of an investigation, she writes about the overlapping of the state with the underworld - and the underworld with the "upperworld" - revealing how the associated violence is not confined to specific areas but is happening inside hospitals, airports, clubs and restaurants, putting all residents at risk.
Dolley's book lays bare the myth that violence and gangsterism in Cape Town is confined to the Cape Flats: wherever you find yourself, you’re only a hair’s breadth away from the enforcers.
Caryn Dolley is an investigative reporter at Amabhungane and has spent more than a decade in journalism covering hard news, features, investigative pieces, court cases and topics ranging from regional to international issues. Before working for Amabhungane, she worked for News24, the Weekend Argus, the Cape Times and the Sunday Times. She has a diploma in journalism from Cape Peninsula University of Technology and lives in Cape Town.
