Prison warders are working in constant fear of being attacked by prison gang members, who assault them to prolong their stay in jail.
At least three warders have been attacked in recent weeks.
Warders interviewed by the Cape Argus said gang members, due for parole and release, attacked warders to be charged and stay in prison. The attacks were on instruction from leaders of the 26s, 27s and 28s gangs, who want inmates to remain in jail and help in a recruitment drive in prisons across the province.
The new trend in the province has meant that warders work in a constant state of siege. It is understood hit-lists of warders' names are in circulation and at one city prison six warders were identified for attack last week.
There is also a list for inmates labelled as "pimpers", who inform on gangsters.
Most of the assaults on warders are allegedly carried out by members of the 27s, with either a 26s or 28s member taking the blame and facing the charge.
Each number designates a gang that serves its own distinct function.
The 26s assault and rob other inmates. The 27s, known for extreme violence, commit serious assaults and murders, and ensure the prisoner or warder's blood flows. To do this they attack the person's face and head. The 28s sodomise prisoners, then take their clothes and belongings.
The 27s are also known as the mediators, called in by the 26s and 28s whenever there is conflict between opposing gangs.
Recently senior warder John Finck, 39, was stabbed several times in the face in a courtyard in the Medium B section of Pollsmoor Prison.
Warders interviewed said Finck and two other warders were assigned to keep watch over more than 100 inmates.
One warder apparently received a phone call. Minutes later the other was called to the office, leaving Finck alone. It was then that the 27s attacked, stabbing him several times in the face and head. He was in hospital for several days and is still off sick.
That night armed members of the department of correctional services apparently went into a large cell occupied by gangsters, and beat up three gang members.
In March warders Barry Jones, 39, and Nkosinathi Vellum, 38, were seriously wounded when members of the 27s gang stabbed them in their faces and heads at Klein Drakenstein Prison in Paarl.
Other attacks are being kept under wraps. Warders, asking not to be named, told the Cape Argus that the main reason for the current trend was to recruit new members, especially youths in jails.
The Cape Argus interviewed a male and female warder at their homes. They asked not to be named to prevent them from being attacked, their greatest fear.
Their other fear was controlling and watching over an overcrowded section or large area of cell blocks because of severe staff shortages.
A warder said: "We are not working in a convent. There should be enough warders."
Usually there were three warders looking after about 400 prisoners. "One goes on lunch, another is maybe sent with an inmate to the hospital section, then there is one left."
Nightshifts were the worst.
To have enough warders on duty "is difficult", said a warder. Morale "is low when it comes to managing staff in this kind of environment".
Two other warders said: "Fear is taking its toll on our members, both male and female. There are also female warders in male prisons."
A female warder, known to the Cape Argus, has been admitted to a Claremont clinic suffering from severe stress.
Eddie Johnson, provincial spokesperson for Correctional Services, said the department viewed the attacks on warders "in a very serious light".
The department and provincial government were going to deal harshly with those responsible for the attacks on warders across the province.