WATCH: Trapped by loyalty, bound by blood - SA's deadly gangster code

CapeTalk and 702's Aubrey Masango interviews EWN Reporter, Orrin Singh.

Listen below:

'I was 15 years old when I committed my first murder.'

That's the chilling confession of one of the gangsters interviewed for Eyewitness News' new half an hour documentary, 'Trapped by loyalty, bound by blood: the gangster code in South Africa.'

EWN travelled to some of the most gang-ridden areas in South Africa – Westbury in Gauteng, Hanover Park and Manenberg in Western Cape and Wentworth in KwaZulu-Natal – to uncover the harsh realities of gangsterism.

The programme explores the life cycle of a gangster through the voices of those directly affected.

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"People that we speak to...say that something needs to be done in our communities...within the leadership, but also within ourselves to start breaking the chain of our past trauma and moving away from these acts of gangsterism."

- Orrin Singh, Reporter - EWN

Singh says the doccie paints a bleak picture of what childhood – and the future – looks like for many South African youngsters raised in communities where poverty, drugs, gangsterism and violence are a way of life.

"For some of the gangsters we spoke to, it's a generational thing. If your grandfather, your uncle was part of a specific gang, you're expected to be that."

- Orrin Singh, Reporter - EWN

Singh says one of the overarching themes of the documentary is the stolen youth of the children.

"Children grow up and they have their youth completely stolen from them just by growing up in a specific community within the country."

- Orrin Singh, Reporter - EWN

"They see these gang leaders as role models. They see them driving a fancy car and wearing nice clothes, and in a community where there's so little for them to get in terms of jobs...that's everything to them.

- Orrin Singh, Reporter - EWN

Visit www.ewn.co.za to watch the full documentary.

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Scroll up to the audio player to listen to the interview.