Ex-gangster turns his past into a message for youth

“I had blood on my hands. Today, I want to save young people from making the same mistake.”

These were the words of Mervin Lewis, who, for most of his life, believed crime was the only option. Born in Manenberg and pulled into the cycle of gangs and violence, he spent 12 years behind bars after taking someone's  life at just 18.

Now 56 and living in Weltevreden Valley, Mr Lewis is determined to use his story to prevent young people from going down the same road.

Thinking back to the day he (SHOT? STABBED SOMEONE?), HE SAID:  “That night in 1988, I thought my story was over,” he said. “I had blood on my hands. I didn’t know it was just beginning.”

Mr Lewis was sentenced to life in prison, spending time in seven different prisons. He described jail as “hell,” a place that hardened men instead of rehabilitating them. “Prison doesn’t fix you—it breaks you more. You fight to survive. You lose your soul,” he said.

The turning point came when he received a letter from his mother, telling him she still loved him. Days later, she died, and he never got to say goodbye. “That broke me. For years, I didn’t care if I lived or died. But then one night in 1998, a preacher asked me if I believed God could forgive me. That question changed my life.”

Mr Lewis then embraced faith and began mentoring other inmates. In 2000, he was released. Since then, he has continued mentorship work in Mitchell’s Plain, most recently at a local parking lot. But his true mission lies elsewhere—speaking to young people.

“Most of them come from broken homes. They don’t have fathers. I talk to them like a concerned father. I tell them prison is not a place they want to end up.”

Today, churches, schools, and community groups invite him to share his testimony. With no funding or resources, Mr Lewis relies only on his voice and his past. He hopes to launch programmes that bring parents and children together and offer young people alternatives to crime.

“The attitude must change, or there’s no future,” he said. Mitchell’s Plain is my home. I’ve seen what fear and gangs can do. Now I want to show what hope can do.”

Mr Lewis calls his story Blood on My Hands: The Redemption of Mervin Lewis. It’s a story he carries not as shame, but as a warning.

“I want young men to know—you are not beyond redemption. If I could change, they can too.”

Anyone who would like to invite Mr Lewis to assist young people steer away from crime can contact him on 079 950 8487.