The Democratic Alliance (DA) in the Northern Cape will request the Select Committee on Security and Justice to sharpen its oversight in response to the pervasive smuggling of contraband items in the Tswelopele Correctional Facility in Kimberley.
This follows an oversight inspection to the facility on Friday, whereby I engaged with correctional services management and inspected key areas of the prison.
The confiscation of 38 cellphones from offenders during a prison raid in Tswelopele Correctional Facility in Kimberley in June is concerning.
Two of the confiscated phones exposed dealings between inmates and staff in relation to drug smuggling. While the DA notes the subsequent precautionary suspension of staff members, the situation underscores the lack of necessary control within the prison environment.
The DA will bring these matters to the attention of the Select Committee on Security and Justice, and request formal updates from the Department of Correctional Services on progress made towards eradicating smuggling and repairing broken infrastructure.
Given the high state of lawlessness in the country, it is crucial that prisons incapacitate offenders, by stopping them from committing further crimes. Prison officials, who are meant to uphold the law, also cannot be allowed to perpetuate the cycle of crime, and those implicated in aiding smuggling and other prison crimes, must face the full wrath of the law.
It was further disappointing that the prison has been without water for eight years, due to broken geezers. The kitchen pots, which are almost fifteen years old, leaking and in a generally poor condition, are also due for replacement. I will be checking up on commitments made during the inspection, that management is in the process of procuring new geezers and pots. This is important to ensure that prisons maintain good sanitation and hygiene practices due to the risk of disease transmission and its impact on prisoners and the community.
I will also request that a report is sent to the committee, detailing the investigation currently underway into gross discrimination by staff against an offender, due to his sexual orientation. There is no place for prejudice in our prisons.