A warden at Goodwood Correctional Facility in Cape Town is in a critical condition after he was stabbed. A second warden was also stabbed, and a prisoner injured.
The Department of Correctional Services and police conducted an intensive search of the prison.
During the shakedown search inmates were cleared from their cells and guards moving in to look for any illegal goods.
This is after two wardens were stabbed while doing their rounds on Sunday morning.
“What prompted the search this morning (Sunday) is that two guards were stabbed by an offender who wanted to prove his rank. So we embarked on this search in order to retrieve knives, sharpened objects and drugs which is a major problem in this facility,” says Correctional Services Regional Commissioner Delekile Klass.
Guards recovered a number of illegal items, ranging from cellphones to home-made weapons. Safety and security at prisons in the Western Cape is a great concern. A couple of months ago boiling water was thrown at two wardens at Pollsmoor prison by inmates. A couple of months later six prisoners managed to escape from the facility.
Western Cape Correctional Services says its facilities are overcrowded and the periodical shortage of manpower renders guards vulnerable. The biggest challenge is 12 000 remanded prisoners. More searches will take place to normalise the facility.
