Cape Town – The chairperson of the portfolio committee on correctional services, Kgomotso Ramolobeng, has expressed concern over prison overcrowding, emphasising the substantial role foreign nationals play in exacerbating the problem.
Ramolobeng said that the Department of Correctional Services houses 156,000 inmates, despite having only 105,474 approved bed spaces. Of these inmates, 36% are remand detainees, many unable to afford bail.
“The department is responsible for 55 776 remand detainers, who contributed 36% of total prison population,” IOL quoted her as saying during the Parliament’s weekly committee cluster media briefing on Tuesday.
The Chairperson of the Portfolio Committee on Correctional Services, Anthea Ramolobeng, says overcrowding is the problem of the whole Peace and Security Cluster not just the Department of Correctional Services. Currently, the department houses 156 000 inmates, with only 105 474… pic.twitter.com/A2DlkTdzOR
— Parliament of RSA (@ParliamentofRSA) January 21, 2025
The committee also flagged the presence of 22,612 foreign nationals in prisons, including 690 serving life sentences, and the inappropriate incarceration of state patients who require mental health care.
“The high number of foreign national is a dire concern the department is facing in the centres,” Ramolobeng said.
“These statistics are yet to be updated.”
South African prisons house 22,612 foreign nationals, with 690 serving life sentences.
In some facilities, like Baviaanspoort, foreign inmates outnumber locals, raising concerns about overcrowding and resource strain, says Anthea Ramolobeng. https://t.co/Tgm0YgfTEn
— THE TRUTH PANTHER 🇿🇦 (@TheTruthPanther) January 21, 2025
According to Times Live, Ramolobeng said that during oversight visits to Gauteng correctional facilities in October, it was discovered that the majority of inmates were foreign nationals, mainly imprisoned for robbery and immigration-related offences.
“When we went to the Baviaanspoort juvenile centre, we found about 525 male offenders in that facility. Out of the 525, 400 were foreign nationals and only 125 were South Africans,” she said.
“In the Kgosi Mampuru Correctional Facility, there were 2,394 foreigners. In the Joburg correctional facility, formerly known as Sun City, we found 4,709 foreign national inmates. This is a dire concern for the department.”
She said that the committee plans further oversight visits and has urged the department to address infrastructure challenges, enhance accountability, and provide updated plans for mitigating overcrowding and contraband issues.
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