Urgent Management Intervention Ordered at Pollsmoor Prison After Breaches

Commissioner Thobakgale confirmed that the decision came after repeated incidents involving the erroneous release of inmates, failures in warrant verification, and inmate identity manipulation.

Correctional Services National Commissioner Makgothi Thobakgale has authorised an immediate management intervention at Pollsmoor Correctional Facility in Cape Town following a series of serious security breaches that exposed systemic weaknesses in the prison’s operations.

Security Breaches Prompt Urgent Action

Commissioner Thobakgale confirmed that the decision came after repeated incidents involving the erroneous release of inmates, failures in warrant verification, and inmate identity manipulation. These lapses, he said, posed a direct threat to public confidence in the correctional system and jeopardised the integrity of the wider criminal justice chain.

Recent breaches included:

• The erroneous release of remand detainee John Henry Mpelo due to failures in warrant verification.

• The mistaken release of Inganathi "Thembalethu" Daba after he was recorded under another detainee’s identity.

• The case of Jordan Adams, who exploited poor record management to assume a false identity.

Although all three offenders were later re-arrested, the Commissioner stressed that these incidents highlighted deep vulnerabilities in fingerprint verification, record reconciliation, and operational discipline.

Contraband Discovery Raises Alarm

Concerns were further compounded in July, when a surprise raid led by the Commissioner uncovered over 110 cell phones, SIM cards, sharp objects, drug paraphernalia, narcotics, and cash hidden inside the prison. The scale of the contraband highlighted serious lapses in internal control and monitoring systems.

“These incidents cannot be taken lightly,” Thobakgale said. “Any instability here has a ripple effect across law enforcement, the judiciary, and community safety.”

Corrective Measures and Leadership Intervention

In response, the Department of Correctional Services has deployed two experienced senior officials, Abel Mashaba and Michael Mafukata, to Pollsmoor. Their mandate will be to institute corrective measures, restore stability, and strengthen operational management until the facility regains its footing.

Pollsmoor, one of South Africa’s “Big Five” correctional facilities, plays a strategic role in servicing multiple courts across the Cape Town metro and surrounding areas. Because of its central role, Thobakgale warned that unchecked instability at the facility could have far-reaching consequences for the justice system.

Broader National Plan for Correctional Reform

The intervention at Pollsmoor forms part of a broader national strategy to stabilise correctional facilities across the country. Thobakgale explained that the Department has already been making targeted management appointments, enhancing governance structures, and expanding the frontline correctional workforce to strengthen institutional capacity.

“These interventions are not limited to management levels,” he said. “We are actively working to grow the frontline workforce that powers the correctional system. The developments at Pollsmoor reflect our determination to act decisively whenever lapses occur.”

Restoring Public Trust

The Commissioner emphasised that accountability measures are already underway, with investigations into the breaches expected to lead to consequences for staff who neglected their duties. “We are committed to building a correctional system that is professional, accountable, and resilient,” he concluded.

The Pollsmoor intervention is now being closely watched as a test case for whether decisive corrective action can restore public confidence in South Africa’s correctional facilities.