Makwetla to visit Bethal prison
During the 1950s the prison was ill-reputed for sending inmates to work on the potato farms. It was also notorious as the death trap for inmates, and farm workers, who were exposed to harsh working conditions in the town’s farming areas with workers even losing their hands whilst digging potatoes.
The Deputy Minister of Justice and Correctional Services, Mr. Thabang Makwetla, accompanied by Mr. Pat Sibande (MP) will today visit Bethal Correctional Centre.
Bethal prison was the most arresting feature about the Bethal district in the years of apartheid.
During the 1950s the prison was ill-reputed for sending inmates to work on the potato farms. It was also notorious as the death trap for inmates, and farm workers, who were exposed to harsh working conditions in the town’s farming areas with workers even losing their hands whilst digging potatoes.
The town of Bethal consequently became known as eMazambaneni. It was through the bravery of people such as Gert Sibande, who put an end to this brutality through exposing the traits and eventually discovering the farm workers’ association.
Today Bethal Prison is known for its outstanding work in successfully rehabilitating and reintegrating offenders with a record of 98 – 100% compliance on parolees without violations in the past three years.
The Bethal Management Area, which comprises of centres at Ermelo, Piet Ritief, Standerton, Volksrust and Bethal, currently houses over 2000 inmates.
