South Africa’s prison system is under fresh scrutiny after Correctional Services Minister Pieter Groenewald revealed that 2,388 officials were subjected to disciplinary action during the 2025/26 financial year. The cases include misconduct, corruption and helping to smuggle contraband such as cellphones and drugs into correctional facilities.
The figures were disclosed in a parliamentary reply after EFF MP Nontando Nolutshungu asked for an update on the department’s gang management strategy, its funding and the disciplinary steps taken against officials. She also asked what was being done to fix weak perimeter security at prisons.
Groenewald said 289 officials were suspended and 118 were dismissed during the period under review. He added that 25 officials were implicated in corruption and 137 were linked to aiding the smuggling of banned items.
Government says gang strategy is showing results
Groenewald said progress in the department’s gang combatting strategy had helped reduce security incidents, including gang-related violence inside prisons. He did not indicate a dedicated budget for the strategy, but said R24.362 million had been allocated for goods and services linked to operations and strategy implementation.
That suggests the department is funding anti-gang measures through broader operational spending rather than a ring-fenced programme. It also points to a system trying to respond to deep-rooted prison violence and corruption pressures without a clearly separated funding stream. That is an inference based on Groenewald’s funding explanation.
Escapes and assaults show some improvement
Groenewald also tabled performance data showing some security gains over the past three financial years. The percentage of inmates who escaped dropped from 0.030% in 2023/24 to 0.029% in 2024/25 and then to 0.012% in 2025/26. The number of recorded escape cases fell from 20 to four and stayed at four.
The percentage of inmates injured in reported assaults also declined, from 4.50% in 2023/24 to 2.28% in 2025/26. Groenewald said confirmed unnatural deaths in correctional facilities remained relatively stable over the same period.
Security upgrades planned at major prisons
The minister said the department has adopted a multi-year plan to strengthen perimeter security. That plan includes repairing or replacing damaged fencing, upgrading access control, improving surveillance and scanning technology, increasing patrols and tightening operational discipline.
He said large fencing upgrades would be prioritised over five years, depending on available budgets. Funded projects for the 2026/27 financial year are set to begin at St Albans Management Area in the Eastern Cape and Durban Westville Correctional Centre in KwaZulu-Natal.
The numbers show the scale of the problem inside South Africa’s prisons. They also show a department trying to prove that tougher discipline and tighter security can curb corruption from within.