The Mangaung prison, which is run by private contractor G4S, and made international headlines when Facebook rapist Thabo Bester faked his death and escaped, is in the spotlight again. This is after a prisoner who was serving a life sentence for murder was allegedly tortured and later died in hospital. The Department of Correctional Services has identified the dead prisoner as Mpho Mkhumbeni. He had started serving his sentence there in November 2014. According to the Department, G4S first notified…

The National Commissioner of Correctional Services, Makgothi Thobakgale says criminal syndicates operating in Eastern Cape prisons have changed their tactics and are now manipulating elderly people and using them to smuggle contraband into correctional facilities. Thobakgalae says this is a new worrying trend they have just uncovered. He was speaking in the province after visiting the St Albans Management Area, which includes areas like Mthatha. “It has to be said that St Albans Management Area has been doing a phenomenal…

The University of South Africa (UNISA) held a career day exhibition for female inmates at the Gender Responsive Centre, formerly the Female Correctional Centre, in Atteridgeville, Pretoria, on Thursday, 13 February 2025. The initiative, organised in partnership with the Department of Correctional Services (DCS) and It’s Possible for All, a non-profit organisation, provided academic guidance, addressed administrative queries, and facilitated dialogue on the transformative role of education. Attendees included incarcerated students and correctional officials. During the event, the university donated…