Escaped prisoners were assisted

Impossible to have done it alone, committee told

PRISON escapes in the Cape and in Joburg could not have happened without help, according to the National Assembly committee on justice and correctional services. On Wednesday, the committee held a briefing with the Department of Justice and Correctional Services (DCS) on its 2018/19 annual performance plan.

The committee chairperson, Mathole Motshekga, said: “The committee heard that the initial investigation indicated that the escapes from Pollsmoor, in Cape Town, and Joburg correctional facilities could not have happened without assistance.”

At the meeting it emerged that the recent escapes were aided by the “human factor”, the committee said.

Deputy Minister of Correctional Services Thabang Makwetla told the committee that it appeared the escapes did not result from a shortage of resources.

Minister of Correctional Services, advocate Michael Masutha, blamed ill-discipline for the escapes.

“That is why disciplinary action has been taken. Overcrowding also played a role. The country’s jails accommodate 37% more inmates on average than they are designed to house,” said Masutha.

The minister expressed confidence in the newly appointed commissioner of correctional services, Arthur Fraser.

“I am aware of the negative publicity around him. I am looking at it positively.

“I have a man with vast experience who I believe can bring to bear such valuable experience to assist us at corrections to address some of the challenges,” he said.

Two weeks ago, 16 remand detainees from Johannesburg Correctional Centre, Medium A, escaped.

It is alleged they escaped through a pipe shaft and used an object to break a wall.

Two of the prison escapees were killed by the police in a shoot-out in KwaZuluNatal.

The department said it could not confirm the number of escapees rearrested.

In a similar incident a month ago, six men escaped from Pollsmoor Prison. All were rearrested.

Police and Prisons Civil Rights Union spokesperson Richard Mamabolo said Pollsmoor prison had an overcrowding rate of 252% in the remand facility.

“With the total number of 236 operational correctional centres in the country at an official capacity rate of 120 000, and a daily growing prison population of more than 160 000 inmates – not much progress has been seen due to the fact that the staff complement stands at 34 000.

“The South African correctional system struggles to accommodate an actual population; the degree of overcrowding varies, with most severely overcrowded facilities accommodating as many as 60 inmates in cells intended for 18 inmates,” said Mamabolo.