The South African Prisoners’ Organisation for Human Rights (Sapohr) called on Monday for a probe into weapons smuggling in jails following Sunday’s killings at Pretoria’s C-Max high-security facility.
”Tighter security measures have to be in place,” the organisation said in a statement.
It condemned Sunday’s shooting, apparently by a prisoner who obtained a firearm and used it to kill another inmate and two warders before turning the gun on himself.
”It is evidently clear that assistance from an official was rendered [in obtaining the firearm],” Sapohr claimed.
The officials killed were identified as Dan Ndinisa and Sam Gomba — believed to be the prison head.
One officer died in hospital, and the other three men inside the prison.
The shooting apparently took place after an escape attempt went wrong. But officials were loath on Sunday to disclose exactly what had happened or how the firearm was obtained. On Monday morning, no spokespersons could be reached.
C-Max is a maximum-security facility designed specifically to hold violent and disruptive prisoners classified as dangerous. Its residents include apartheid-era murderer Eugene de Kock, serial killer and rapist Moses Sithole, and the alleged rightwingers charged with plotting to overthrow the government in the Boeremag treason trial.
According to unconfirmed accounts of Sunday’s events, a visitor managed to smuggle a firearm into the prison in the morning.
Sapohr president Golden Miles Bhudu, who was visiting friends and members in the prison, said a public announcement was made shortly before 10am that a hostage situation was under way.
An hour later, he said, he overheard a warder telling someone that a woman visitor had smuggled a firearm into C-Max and handed it to a prisoner. There was some shooting, and two warders were apparently held hostage, Bhudu said he heard.
Sapohr on Monday condemned the incident, and expressed concern about ”growing levels of firearm smuggling between warders and prisoners”.
”This is a wake-up call to the Correctional Services Ministry to [introduce] stringent measures to ensure safety of the prison population,” it said.
The organisation extended its condolences to the next-of-kin of those killed, and urged inmates to cooperate with warders in reporting any planned violations in future. — Sapa