Cape Town – A Goedemoed correctional facility warder is suspected of being the mastermind behind the “contract murder” and rape of female colleagues by an inmate, according to a report issued by the Judicial Inspectorate for Correctional Services (JICS).
The report details an incident at the Free State facility on March 29 where a female warder, identified as Nomsa Stuurman, was killed by an inmate when he took her hostage and stabbed her to death with scissors. The inmate thereafter took another woman hostage for several hours, during which time he raped her.
“(The perpetrator) entered the offices of the unit where he was employed as a cleaner, locked the steel ‘grill’ door to the offices with a padlock and barricaded the door with two tables.
"He attacked the now deceased female official in her office with a hammer (allegedly normally used to test locks) and stabbed her to death with scissors,” the report read.
“Then he took the other Department of Correctional Services (DCS) female official hostage, threatening her with the scissors. An SAPS hostage negotiating team were called to work with DCS officials.
"During the negotiations, the inmate took his hostage to a back office and raped her, after requesting time alone to pray. He eventually handed the keys for the padlock to DCS officials.”
Following the incident the perpetrator was transferred to the Mangaung correctional centre (Bloemfontein) and later to Ebongweni Super Max (Kokstad).
The inmate was serving a life sentence for murder, rape, robbery and assault.
“He had a history of internal disciplinary transgressions and his classification had been fluctuating,” the report read.
Despite a list of findings, recommendations and requests made in the report, the JICS said it regarded several aspects of this report as final while “some questions remain unanswered and some issues require further investigation, or amendment of the JICS report”.
JICS spokesperson Emerantia Cupido said the DCS official had been suspended after allegations of a “contract murder”, torture and assault came to light during an investigation by JICS.
“During initial enquiries to determine what triggered the incident, allegations of the violation of the dignity of inmates and inhumane treatment by officials (including the deceased) were mentioned.
"Further investigation revealed (inter alia in an affidavit by the perpetrator) that the homicide had been prearranged between the inmate and a DCS official, who wanted the deceased assassinated. The implicated official has been suspended.
“Following on earlier discrepancies as to who allowed the inmate to take his hostage out of sight of the negotiators into a back office, the area commissioner stated that he had given permission,” Cupido said.
According to the JICS findings, the incident was found to have been premeditated, and it was possible that more than just the one suspended official might have been involved in the “alleged conspiracy, knowingly or unknowingly”.
“The allegations must be thoroughly investigated,” the report read.