The more than 3,000 prisoners incarcerated at the Kutama-Sinthumule Maximum Security Prison in Louis Trichardt will be moved to other prisons as soon as possible, said the Minister of Justice and Correctional Services, Mr Ronald Lamola, on Tuesday afternoon. He was part of a delegation that visited the prison to assess the damage after disgruntled inmates had apparently set part of the building on fire on Monday.
One prisoner died, and 18 were injured in the fire, which destroyed some sections of the prison. The fire might have been started by inmates who were demanding to be transferred to other prisons. They had also previously complained about being mistreated by wardens.
Hundreds of inmates had to spend Monday night sitting outside on the soccer field inside the facility because of a lack of accommodation. Additional security personnel, including police officers, soldiers, and private security officers, were brought in to help guard the prisoners. The Department of Correctional Services' spokesperson, Singabakho Nxumalo, said the kitchen, maintenance section, and two blocks that house nearly 2,000 inmates had been gutted by the fire.
When Minister Lamola visited the facility late on Tuesday afternoon, he was accompanied by his deputy minister, Phathekile Holomisa, and the Commissioner of the Department of Correctional Services, Makgothi Thobakgale.
During a press conference afterward, Lamola praised the police, prison officials, and other institutions for the swift action taken, ensuring that no prisoners could escape. He said that a team of experts was busy investigating the cause of the fire. He also promised that those responsible for the incident would be charged. Lamola added that it would have been an embarrassment to the State if the entire facility had burnt down, leading to a mass escape of inmates.
The National Commissioner at the Department of Correctional Services, Makgothi Thobakgale, said that the prisoner who had died in the fire had been a 37-year-old inmate serving a 33-year sentence for murder. He mentioned that the department would consult with the deceased's family members and provide them with support. Thobakgale also noted that the families of the other prisoners would soon be consulted and informed about the prisons to which their relatives would be relocated.