3 000 inmates to be moved from Kutama-Sinthumule prison after fire
The kitchen, maintenance section, and two blocks of the Kutama-Sinthumule Maximum Security Prison that house nearly 2 000 inmates had been gutted by a fire last week.
LIMPOPO –Â 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, the Minister of Justice and Correctional Services, Ronald Lamola confirmed last Tuesday afternoon.
He was part of a delegation that visited the prison to assess the damage after disgruntled inmates had set part of the building on fire last on Monday.
One prisoner died and 18 were injured in the fire, which destroyed some sections of the prison.
Read more: One inmate dead as riot leads to fire at Kutama Sinthumule prison
The fire had apparently been started by inmates who demanded to be transferred to other prisons, but this could not be confirmed at the time of going to press.
Hundreds of inmates spent last Monday afternoon sitting on the facility’s soccer field as additional security personnel, including police officers, soldiers and private security officers, were brought in to help guard the prisoners.
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 last week, 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 escaped.
He said that a team of experts was investigating the cause of the fire, and he 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 burned down, which would have resulted in the mass escape of inmates.
The National Commissioner at the Department of Correctional Services, Makgothi Thobakgale said the prisoner who died in the fire had been a 37-year-old man 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.
