Pretoria - The body of a 50-year-old Correctional Services officer was discovered lying in a pool of blood at the Leeuwkop Correctional Centre in Johannesburg on Tuesday night.
“The Department of Correctional Services (DCS) is utterly saddened and broken by the death of a female official at Leeuwkop Correctional Centre last night.
’’The department is in the process of establishing the facts and circumstances that led to her death,” spokesperson Singabakho Nxumalo said on Wednesday.
“The 50-year old official had 23 years of service and was based at the Medium A: Covid-19 isolation site, where her body was discovered on the floor with her jacket covered with blood.”
Nxumalo said an investigation has been launched and it will be prioritised “to move with speed so as to ascertain the cause of death” and bring the perpetrators of this criminal act to book.
“This is a painfully disturbing incident. Our sincere condolences go to the family of our departed official. A case has already been opened with the SAPS,” said Nxumalo.
“DCS is going all out and will ensure that this incident is probed to the fullest. We will not allow incidents that undermine security in our centres to prevail and harsh action will be taken against anyone involved in such.”
Last year, an inmate was killed after a scuffle broke out at Leeuwkop’s Medium A correctional centre.
At the time, DCS spokesperson Logan Maistry said the department had launched an investigation following a security-related incident at Leeuwkop Medium A Correctional Centre, where an inmate, sentenced to 25 years’ imprisonment for housebreaking and theft, died after allegedly attempting to stab a fellow offender with a self-made knife.
African News Agency (ANA)