As extreme floods hit South Africa’s coastal cities, gangs are menacing thirsty communities. ‘We are caught between three mortal dangers – floods, thirst, and “water mafia” gangs,’ says Sfiso Daliyebo, a community leader in the southeastern town of Mthatha.
After the devastating Mthatha floods, which killed 102 people in June, South Africa’s biggest disaster relief charity, Gift of Givers, was blocked from distributing free water to low-income townships under gang control. Then, explains Daliyebo, gangs coerced desperate residents into buying overpriced water from mafia-owned suppliers.
