An oversight visit by the portfolio committee on correctional services at various correctional facilities in KwaZulu-Natal has revealed startling claims that some wardens bow to pressure from inmates.
It emerged that some prison wardens are at the mercy of feared inmates who coerce them into acceding to their demands.
According to the wardens, this is how some contrabands make it inside prison walls.
“There are prison wardens who conspire with inmates and conduct corruption. This is one of the ways that contrabands make it to the correctional facilities,” the committee noted.
“But there are prison wardens who are also forced to do wrong things because of threats of harm from inmates.
“Other public and family members also contribute to smuggling contraband to correctional facilities.”
Fact-finding mission
Concerns have long been voiced regarding the flood of illegal goods as prisoners transform prisons into profitable commercial enterprises.
Among the items frequently seized in cells are expensive jewellery, money, drugs, and cellphones.
It is also alleged that some wealthy prisoners have prison wardens in their pockets who make decisions about what should take place in their cells.
The committee was in KwaZulu-Natal on a fact-finding mission to ascertain the state of correctional facilities in the province.
Among other things, the committee evaluated the living conditions, the impact of overcrowding, the condition of infrastructure, and the influx of contraband, which includes illegal materials like weapons and drugs that find their way into prisons.
Among other prisons, the committee visited Westville prison in Durban and Qalakabusha, which is situated in Empangeni on the province’s north coast.
Prison kitchen shut down
The committee expressed concerns about the infrastructure in Qalakabusha, and the situation was worse in Westville prison, where prison officials were told to shut down the kitchen used to prepare meals for prisoners right away.
“I have seen kitchens in a bad state in various correctional centres across the country. This is the worst I have seen. It must be shut. It can’t be allowed to be operational as it is,” said committee chairperson Kgomotso Ramolobeng.
During this time, prison officials were instructed to devise back-up plans for feeding the prisoners while the kitchen was shut down.
The committee also directed management in the two correctional facilities to focus more on the deteriorating perimeter fences as a crucial step in preventing the entry of illegal items into the cells.
“When there is no functional perimeter fence, it would be easy for visitors, officials, and contractors to walk in with contraband in these centres,” said Ramolobeng.
