Durban - MORE bloodshed is expected at Westville Prison after inmates threatened to stab more Department of Correctional Services (DCS) officials.
The threat comes days after seven officials were stabbed by inmates on Thursday morning.
On Sunday morning, an inmate said “things are getting worse here”.
“There seems to be another section (C3) which is joining the strike of C2 number 11 (the section which had stabbed officials on Thursday).
“A warder told us that they (warders) are not striking today, they are going to deal with C3 inmates because it appeared that they also wanted to stab them,” said the inmate.
Police and Prisons Civil Rights Union (Popcru) spokesperson Nthabeleng Molefe said inmates tried to repeat Thursday’s events but they failed because security was tight.
Molefe said they sympathised with officials but they called on the national commissioner to ensure the employment of more warders because there was a lack of manpower.
“For the longest time we have been complaining that there are fewer warders than inmates. That puts warders’ lives at risk. That’s why you find incidents because inmates can see this and it’s easier to overpower them,” said Molefe.
The department said that on Sunday after 8am, an offender to offender security-related incident took place at the prison. There were 44 inmates outside their cell ready for breakfast, when suddenly there was a commotion of one inmate stabbing another with a sharpened object.
“The Emergency Support Team (EST) and Dog Unit team were quick to disarm the perpetrator and two others who were part of the incident. In the process of disarming offenders, five offenders, including the victim, sustained injuries and have been transferred to an external hospital for medical attention,” the department said.
However, the process of serving breakfast continued as usual and regular working conditions resumed after the incident.
The department said the incident was of concern after Thursday’s incident, which took place at the same centre and same unit, where five knives used in the stabbing were confiscated.
The offenders will be degraded and transferred to eBongweni Maximum Centre and other maximum facilities outside the region.
Chief operations commissioner Mandla Mkabela conducted an operational visit to Westville Correctional Centre (Medium B) on Sunday.
“The department has instituted an internal investigation. Individuals implicated by an investigation, including officials and offenders, disciplinary actions will be taken against them.
“We will uphold our centres as theatres of operations not as war zones. We have to focus on providing the best correctional services for a safer South Africa.”
Daily News