Guards face suspension on strip show

Prison officials are considering suspending 13 guards after one of the country’s high-security jails held an “explicit” strip show for inmates last week.

The announcement was made on Monday after racy pictures of prisoners in orange uniforms, some bare-chested, standing with scantily dressed women in black corsets and knee-high boots, went viral on social media at the weekend.

Officials said the pictures were taken during an event on June 21 at the notorious Johannesburg Correctional Centre, known as “Sun City”. Acting Correctional Services commissioner James Smalberger said: “After a preliminary investigation … at least 13 officials will be served with letters of contemplation of suspension.”

The event at the prison outside Soweto was part of Youth Month celebrations, Smalberger said, blaming an external organiser for the show.

“The intention was never to have strippers in the facility,” he said. “The explicit entertainment was a clear breach of security and this type of conduct is unacceptable,” he said.

The prison management had included the female dancers on the programme despite it not being cleared by his department. One saucy photo showed two women touching and hugging a bare-chested inmate wearing just orange prisoner pants in front of a large group of applauding inmates.

Prison guards could be seen in some of the photographs.

The prison houses some of SA’s most dangerous criminals, convicted for murder, robbery, rape and other crimes.

“The department condemns the incident with the contempt it deserves, including the explicit nature of the entertainment,” Smalberger said.

But his comments did not pacify public indignation. The #PrisonStrippers hashtag trended on Twitter most of Monday morning, with many people expressing shock over the pictures. “So some prisoners are put in prison for assaulting women and then they get a strip show on Youth Day,” tweeted law student Luke Waltham.

“I thought this was fake news, but apparently not. It’s an outrage and a slap in the face to victims of crime,” said a user identified as SAcrimefighters.

Smalberger said more prison officials could be suspended over the incident.

THE EXPLICIT ENTERTAINMENT WAS BREACH OF SECURITY AND THIS TYPE OF CONDUCT IS UNACCEPTABLE