Breaking the Bombers
How the Hunt for Pagad Created a Crack Police Unit
Written By Mark Shaw
Narrated by Adrian Galley
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At the very dawn of the country’s brave new democracy, Cape Town was at war. Pagad, which started as a community protest action against crime, had mutated into a sinister vigilante group wreaking death and destruction across the city. Between 1996 and 2001, there were more than 400 bombs – most famously at the popular Planet Hollywood restaurant at the V&A Waterfront – and there were countless targeted hits on drug lords and gang bosses.
The police were at their wit’s end. The new ANC government was alarmed. The citizens of Cape Town were living in fear.
Mark Shaw tells the incredible tale of how the police’s response pulled together former foes – struggle cadres and the apartheid security apparatus – to break the Pagad death squads. It is a story that has never been told in full and was not possible until recently, when many were released from prison or had retired and were finally willing to talk openly about this revealing chapter in South Africa’s recent history.
About the Author
Mark Shaw is the author of Hitmen for Hire and Give Us More Guns. He is also director of the Global Initiative Against Transnational Organized Crime. Shaw was previously the National Research Foundation Professor of Justice and Security at the University of Cape Town and worked for ten years at the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime. He has held a number of positions in the South African government and civil society, where he worked on issues of public safety and urban violence in the post-apartheid transition.
About the Narrator
Adrian Galley has a background in medical technology before military conscription. Undergraduate at School of Dramatic Arts, Wits University. Theatre (straight, classical, musical), television, film and radio. Adrian is a trained journalist, desk editor/news anchor of 702, SAfm and Cape Talk radio.
Adrian wrote sitcoms and various television dramas as head writer. He headed up the Live Performance Department at AFDA (Cape Town). Obtained BA Honours in Film Production with scriptwriting and editing. Adrian graduated from UCT with Masters in Dramatic Art. Studied Linguistics through Leiden University and has worked as a dialect coach on many theatre and international film productions.
Audiobook Details:
Published: October 2023
ISBN: 9781776193264
Narrator: Adrian Galley
