BANDIETE SLIPPED THROUGH CRACKS

Minister of Correctional Services Pieter Groenewald was grilled on why convicted murderer Xolani du Preez was gevang robbing mense a month ago.

The Daily Voice broke the news that Du Preez was arrested in Table View on 17 April despite being convicted for the murder of Suritha Alting in November 2023 and was sentenced to two years and 245 days in the child youth care facility and eight years’ imprisonment in the Parow Regional Court after pleading guilty to her murder.

Alting was robbed and stabbed as she returned home from a restaurant in Richwood, Cape Town.

In Tuesday's National Council of Provinces seating, DA MP Nicolas Gotsell added that Du Preez was transferred to Pollsmoor Juvenile Centre in July 2024 after violently assaulting a staff member during his initial detention at the Horizon Child and Youth Care Centre.

Alongside Du Preez, bandiete Me-Kayle Timmie and Mikyle Mentoor had also "disappeared". 

Gotsell further stated that the accused were remand detainees after the stabbing incident, however as sentenced prisoners should have returned to Pollsmoor.

Groenewald confirmed that he believed the bandiete were detained at Pollsmoor remand detainee centre.

However, during an oversight visit to the centre, Gotsell found that Timmie was transferred to Drakenstein Correctional Centre and released in February 2025, Mentoor was released to court in December 2024 and has not been re-booked into Pollsmoor.

Du Preez was only re-booked into Medium A on 22 April - days after the Table View robbery - confirming he was indeed on the streets at the time.