The Enforcers : Inside Cape Town’s deadly nightclub battles (2019, Jonathan Ball Publishers)
‘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, and she focuses on how closely connected the criminal underworld is with the police services. In this suspenseful page-turner of an investigation, she writes about the overlapping of the state with the underworld, the underworld with the ‘upperworld’, and how the associated violence is not confined to specific areas of Cape Town, but is happening inside hospitals, airports, clubs and restaurants and putting residents at risk.
A book that lays bare the myth that violence and gangsterism in Cape Town is confined to the ganglands of the Cape Flats – wherever you find yourself, you’re only a hair’s breadth away from the enforcers.’
Listen Amabookabooka: The Quarantine Chronicles – Caryn Dolley
“Don’t let Caryn Dolley fool you – the woman with the goofiest grin and the wackiest sense of humour in South African journalism has struck fear into the heart of some of the toughest gangsters who roam the underworld.
“Caryn is the author of the hard-hitting book The Enforcers: Inside Cape Town’s Deadly Nightclub Battles. The Enforcers exposes the war playing out in the grubby underbelly of the Mother City to dominate the security trade. The book is so good because Caryn did something that is becoming increasingly rare – she did proper boots-on-the-ground journalism …”
Read in Sunday Times Live by the gun, die by the gun
Voice of the Cape Cape Town’s underworld is brought to light in new book by Caryn Dolley
Daily Dispatch Not only does the book explain the connections between those making up the Mother City rogue’s gallery, but also delves into the political shenanigans at play behind the scenes
Mini-review by Chris Roper “I found it particularly striking that many of the photographs of the criminals, kingpins and possibly (or rather, almost certainly) corrupt cops are taken by Dolley herself. This is real feet-on-the-ground journalism, aligned with some meticulous research, and it’s a pleasure to read. Dolley has been working on this story for many years, and this focus is a testament both to her resolve and (I assume) the investment that her newsrooms have been willing to make.”
Review in Mail & Guardian “That Dolley manages to tell a readable and credible story about these (alleged) gangsters and their doings is in itself a remarkable feat. She draws the links between the Cape’s longstanding gang structures, such as the 26s and the 28s, and those running the security industry, especially those charged with the “protection” of clubs and night spots.”
Review on New Frame “Dolley’s book, while reading like a fast-paced crime thriller, tracks the links between these worlds, and how the fight for power and muscle in the underworld is linked with other criminal enterprises. Muscle and power essentially guarantee influence in the murky dealings happening outside of our focus.”
Review on News24 Shapeshifters, spooks and scoundrels: Exposing Cape Town’s grimy underbelly
Read on Daily Maverick “Journalist Caryn Dolley has spent years investigating organised crime, violence and the involvement of SAPS in the lucrative night economy of the Western Cape. Here is an extract from Dolley’s book ‘The Enforcers – Inside Cape Town’s Deadly Nightclub Battles’ soon on a shelf near you.”
Listen on CapeTalk Tonight with Lester – We are joined by journalist Caryn Dolley – Author of the new book focusing on the Cape criminal underworld “The Enforcers, inside Cape Town’s deadly Nightclub Battles”
Read on News24 The Enforcers: ‘Responsible for the life of a person, I will do whatever is necessary’