Parliament’s portfolio committee on correctional services has called for the contract that the Mangaung Correctional Centre has with private company G4S to be terminated with immediate effect.
The committee expressed this on Tuesday during a meeting in parliament, wherein it was receiving a briefing from the Department of Correctional Services (DCS) on unnatural deaths in the country’s correctional centres. The meeting took place in parliament, in Cape Town.
Committee chairperson Kgomotso Anthea Ramolobeng said the public-private partnership between DCS and G4S should be terminated. She said the latter is “acting as a law unto themselves”.
Delayed death report
DCS officials informed the committee that G4S only provided a death report last week. The report was on the unnatural death of an inmate that occurred in March.
“The committee also expressed its shock at the levels of dishonesty on the part of officials who attempt to cover up unnatural deaths in correctional centres,” said Ramolobeng.
Ramolobeng said this after the briefing from the DCS on unnatural deaths of inmates in its facilities. This with specific reference to Mangaung, Goodwood, and Oudtshoorn correctional centres.
“The committee today heard various accounts of how information was distorted and amended to explain away culpability in both the Mangaung incident and another at the Goodwood correctional centre.
G4S accused of insubordination
“The matter in Oudtshoorn is still under investigation. On the Mangaung incident, the committee heard that following the escape of offender Thabo Bester in 2022, the national commissioner invoked section 112 of the Correctional Services Act. And on 29 March 2023, appointed he Mr Patrick Mashabathakga as temporary manager and head of centre from 30 March 2023,” said Ramolobeng.
She said Mashabathakga told the committee that since his appointment he has been undermined by some G4S officials.
“On 11 March 2025, a planned callout drill was followed by searches carried out without his knowledge. During these searches, offenders were allegedly assaulted and tortured. Offender Mpho Mkhumbeni sustained severe injuries, including blunt force trauma from tonfas and complications from pepper spray exposure.
“A day later, Mr Mkhumbeni collapsed in his cell, and the doctor declared him dead after a brief examination. The doctor then ordered a post-mortem, as the death was inconsistent with his medical history, which revealed blunt force trauma, substantiating the allegations of assault. Mr Mkhumbeni was a known asthma patient who had previously been treated for acute bronchospasms but had not been referred to a public hospital since admission.
Fabricated statements
“The committee heard the contractor presented pre-drafted statements to officials to sign off to ensure their versions aligned. Officials were allegedly also advised to assault the inmate on his body and not the face. This was in order to hide the marks. In addition, the committee heard that throughout the investigation into the incident, G4S and its employees sought to conceal the truth and obscure the investigation. This is viewed in a serious light, as it is tantamount to defeating the ends of justice,” said Ramolobeng.
Regarding the incident on February 16 at Goodwood Correctional Centre, Ramolobeng said DCS officials told the committee that inmate Quinton Fortuin attacked officials with a sharpened object during counting.
“Officials then requested backup over a two-way radio. The force used by the officials involved was not commensurate to the threat posed by the inmate. Especially after he was disarmed and lying on the floor. The committee heard that officials from the centre controlled and restrained the inmate, who was afterwards assaulted.
“The inmate was later declared dead due to unnatural causes that same day at Karl Bremer Hospital. And the committee heard that two officials acted with dishonesty by backdating the application on the use of force from 17 February 2025 to 16 February 2025. The committee further heard that the inmate was dragged a long way from the unit to the hospital using a blanket,” said Ramolobeng.
Ramolobeng said she received several requests from G4S asking to be summoned before the committee.
Committee wants answers
“You do not deserve to be summoned. Which information do you want to protect that is already public knowledge?” asked Ramolobeng.
“The committee has oversight over the DCS. We therefore called the department to brief us. Whoever the DCS invites to be part of the briefing is not up to us. We want answers from DCS,” said Ramolobeng.
Ramolobeng said she is aware of G4S’s refusal to provide reports about the March incident to DCS. They only complied on September 4. She said G4S’s conduct amounts to refusing to take responsibility.
Mangaung Correctional Centre is a private prison managed by multinational security company G4S. G4S is paid R44-million per month to manage the private prison.
Thabo Bester escape
In May 2022, convicted murderer and rapist Thabo Bester escaped from the maximum-security facility. He pulled this off after faking his death by burning a body in a cell. Bester and his celebrity doctor girlfriend, Nandipha Magudumana, were arrested in April 2023. They were nabbed in Tanzania and deported back to South Africa. Both are facing a string of criminal offences in relation to Bester’s escape.
Mangaung Correctional Centre is the second private prison in South Africa that is managed by a multinational for the government. The department told parliament in 2023 that it would terminate the G4S contract. It proposed that it would run the prison itself. However, the company took the department to court to protect its multimillion-rand contract.
