Cape town: Correctional Services National Commissioner, Makgothi Thobakgale, has authorised an immediate management intervention at Pollsmoor Correctional Facility in a move to address systemic failures at the facility. This decision follows security breaches that revealed weaknesses in core operational procedures, prompting the National Commissioner to act decisively.
According to South African Government News Agency, recent months have seen Pollsmoor experiencing a series of significant security lapses, exposing deficiencies in the management of warrants, court appearances, and inmate identification processes. Commissioner Thobakgale emphasized the gravity of these incidents, noting their potential to undermine public confidence in the correctional system and compromise the broader criminal justice value chain.
The facility has faced troubling incidents, including mistaken releases and an inmate assuming another’s identity. In July, a raid led by Thobakgale uncovered over 110 cell phones, sim cards, sharp objects, drug paraphernalia, drugs, and cash within the facility. These events highlighted systemic vulnerabilities in fingerprint verification, record reconciliation, and overall operational discipline, leading to the erroneous release of detainees such as John Henry Mpelo and Inganathi ‘Thembalethu’ Daba, and Jordan Adams exploiting record management weaknesses to assume a false identity. Though all offenders were re-arrested, investigations are ongoing to hold accountable those who neglected their duties.
The intervention, led by seasoned officials Abel Mashaba and Michael Mafukata, aims to institute corrective measures, restore stability, and strengthen management practices at Pollsmoor. Thobakgale stressed the strategic importance of Pollsmoor, one of South Africa’s major correctional facilities, in servicing courts in the Cape Town metropole and surrounding districts. The facility’s stability is crucial, as any instability could have a ripple effect on law enforcement, the judiciary, and community safety.
Thobakgale further explained that this intervention is part of a larger effort to enhance capacity and management at correctional facilities nationwide. The department is making targeted appointments to stabilise facilities and strengthen governance structures, focusing on expanding the frontline workforce. These efforts are part of a broader strategy to build a professional, accountable, and resilient correctional system, demonstrating a commitment to decisive action when lapses occur.