POLLSMOOR TO SEAL GAPS

THREE bandiete smokkelled their way out of Pollsmoor prison, shocking the Department of Correctional Services into action. 

Remand inmate John Mpelo was able to slip out of custody due to failures in verifying warrants. 

His escape was followed by Inganathi “Thembalethu” Daba who used another bandiet’s identity to walk free. 

Meanwhile Jordan Adams took advantage of the department’s outdated record management to assume a false identity and was shown the door. 

Despite all three being re-arrested, National Commissioner of Correctional Services Makghoti Thobakgale is tightening up security and administrative controls.

In a media briefing on Monday at the tronk, Thobakgale said: “In recent months, Pollsmoor has experienced a series of serious security breaches that exposed weaknesses in the management of warrants, court appearances, and inmate identification processes.

“These incidents cannot be taken lightly, as they have the potential to undermine public confidence in the correctional system and compromise the broader criminal justice value chain.”

As one of South Africa’s big five correctional facilities, which has earned an infamous reputation, Thobakgale said dinge will have to change immediately to institute corrective measures, restore stability, and strengthen management practices at the facility. 

DA MP Nicholas Gotsell told the Daily Voice that the party welcomed the intervention, but stated that the question must be asked, “is this not too little, too late?”

Gotsell said: “Just weeks ago, a woman only discovered her husband had died nearly a week after the fact when she first visited Pollsmoor. “She was turned away, and only on her return the next day was she finally told he had died. They did not know upon her first visit that her husband was hospitalised the previous week or that he was dead.”

He added that the saga of three convicted rapists and murderers, namely Xolani du Preez, Mikyle Mentoor and Me-Kayle Timmie who were “lost” because of correctional services not tracking and categorise inmates properly exacerbates the fact that there is no communal system between DCS, SAPS and the Department of Justice.

Gotsell said: “Why did it take yet another shocking incident for the Department to realise something so obvious? These are not glitches; they are systemic failures. 

“The only solution is an integrated criminal justice system that uses ID numbers and biometrics across the board, ensuring we know exactly who enters and exits our prisons.”

He added that this way it would tell how long bandiete are meant to be there, when they are meant to appear in court and when they are rightfully allowed to leave.

Gotsell said he would be present at the High Court on 1 October to ensure Du Preez, Mentoor and Timmie are transported correctly.