The Chairperson of Parliament’s Portfolio Committee on Correctional Services, Ms Kgomotso Anthea Ramolobeng, has voiced deep concern over what she described as a “very worrying trend” of escalating attacks on correctional officials by inmates across the country.

Her comments follow a violent stabbing incident at Pollsmoor Correctional Centre in Tokai on Wednesday morning, which left two inmates dead and two officials injured, one of whom is reportedly in intensive care.

“This seems to be a trend now, a very worrying one as our facilities are already overcrowded with inmates, so the ratio of offender to official is high. It seems inmates are taking advantage of this fact,”Ramolobeng said.

She called for tighter security measures in correctional centres nationwide, stressing that the situation is being worsened by staff shortages and overcrowded prisons.

“We have been informed that the one official is in ICU, meaning that the injuries are serious,” she added.

The chairperson highlighted that this was not an isolated case. During a recent committee oversight visit to St Albans Correctional Centre, an official was also stabbed, allegedly because inmates were denied permission to speak to the parliamentary delegation.

“We cannot be perpetuating violence in our facilities. They are supposed to be places of rehabilitation, but instead it seems to be breeding more violence,” Ramolobeng said.

“Offenders seem to be using our lower official numbers to plan attacks on our officials. It is unacceptable.”

Ms Ramolobeng urged the Department of Correctional Services to fill all vacant funded posts to strengthen staffing levels and improve safety in correctional centres. She further appealed to the broader criminal justice system* to address systemic overcrowding that continues to strain prison operations.

“The department is, after all, at the tail end of the criminal justice system with no control over its population size,” she said.

“We call on all in the criminal justice system to come up with strategies to lighten the load in our The Chairperson of the Correctional Services Committee expresses alarm over a disturbing rise in violent attacks on prison officials, highlighting the urgent need for improved security and staffing in South Africa’s overcrowded correctional facilities.”

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