Future of prisons under Groenewald's guard takes spotlight, with praises all round for Sun City prison raid

Robust raids in notorious South African prisons seem to be the kick-starter for new correctional services minister Pieter Groenewald’s tenure, sparking praises for him from the public. 

On Wednesday, the department conducted raids at the Johannesburg Correctional Service Centre, also known as Sun City prison, which led to the discovery of a significant number of contraband, including cellphones, laptops, TVs, PlayStations, and other prohibited electronics, as well as makeup and sex toys.

This operation comes in response to concerns about illegal possession of electronics by inmates .

Recently, a viral video of an inmate on trial, Bornface Banks, bragging about the “soft life” at Goodwood Prison in Cape Town, prompted mass prison raids instructed by Groenewald, who vowed to crack the whip on officials found to have been involved.

Since taking office, Groenewald has vowed to play an effective role in the new government of national unity. During his 2024/2025 budget presentation, Groenewald expressed concern about overcrowding in prisons. “For the financial year 2022/23 the inmate population increased by 13,833 from 143,223 to 157,056 inmates, constituting a 9.7% upward movement in one year. Unsentenced inmates [in custody] comprises 59,574 of these inmates,” he said.

"An overcrowding reduction strategy is being implemented, yet for it to succeed calls for all entities in the criminal justice system to work in unison. The department cannot refuse to admit any person referred by the court regardless of its occupancy level.”

One of Groenewald’s first priorities is to demand answers from the Mangaung prison in Bloemfontein — the privately run facility from which rapist and murderer Thabo Bester notoriously escaped in 2022.

Social media has been abuzz with people praising Groenewald. Most urged him to conduct more raids in other prisons. Others compared his tenure to that of the former minister of justice correctional services Ronald Lamola, who is now international relations and cooperation minister.

Department of international relations and cooperation spokesperson Chrispin Phiri defended Lamola, saying the raids were also conducted during Lamola’s tenure.

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