Dear Editor
The DA has long warned that the gang and drug war on the Cape Flats does not stop at the prison gates. It continues inside our correctional facilities, enabled by systemic rot and weak oversight.
The DA calls on the Department of Correctional Services to urgently invest in proper resources, including permanent K9 units and body-worn cameras monitored by independent oversight bodies. Without sustained, professionalised interventions, sporadic raids like the recent Pollsmoor blitz amount to little more than window-dressing in the face of entrenched criminal syndicates operating from within prison walls.
The DA will continue our oversight and fight for the proper functioning of these facilities, which are vital to tackling the violence gripping the Cape Flats and greater Western Cape.
While the DA welcomes the recent raid at Pollsmoor Correctional Centre to remove illicit goods, the Department’s own media release confirms, rather than contradicts, the extent to which organised crime has infiltrated our prisons and continues to thrive under the Department’s watch.
Contraband seized includes 81 weapons, 119 cell phones, 305 packets of dagga, 36 mandrax tablets, 34 grams of tik, SIM cards, sharp weapons, and even cash.
This is a clear indication that Pollsmoor no longer functions as a secure detention facility but as a breeding ground for ongoing criminal activity. These are symptoms of a deeply compromised environment where gang leaders continue to extort, smuggle, and orchestrate violence from behind bars.
The DA has consistently highlighted the inextricable link between certain criminal justice role-players and the smuggling networks operating within our prisons. These syndicates are directly responsible for the bloodshed on the Cape Flats through their corruption, intimidation and illicit trade.
Following the recent lockdown at Pollsmoor, prompted by the stabbing of a warden, the Department failed to recover the weapon used. This is further proof of its inability to respond effectively to security breaches.
The time for reactive measures is over. What is needed now is decisive action and long-term reform.
Regards
Nicholas Gotsell MP
DA NCOP Member on Security & Justice