Correctional services probes death of Mangaung Correctional Centre inmate

The correctional services department (DCS) has launched an investigation into the “unnatural death” of an inmate at the Mangaung Correctional Centre in Bloemfontein.

The inmate, Mpho Mkhumbeni, was serving a life sentence for a murder conviction handed down on November 4 2014.

The department said it was informed about the death of Mkhumbeni on March 12 by the private contractor G4S after a cell search the night before at Wolds Unit by G4S personnel known as the dedicated search team (DST).

“The inmate was reported to have collapsed in his cell and was taken to the internal hospital,” department spokesperson Singabakho Nxumalo said. “However, conflicting accounts soon emerged from further reports requested by the department from the contractor and its employees, prompting the DCS to launch a full-scale investigation.”

Nxumalo said the investigation started on March 14 and is at an advanced stage.

“[So far it] has been established: The contractor arranged and conducted a search exercise on March 11 without informing the temporary manager, an appointee of the DCS, who ought to have been part of the search operation.

“The investigation uncovered that the DST officials returned to the Wolds Unit cell later that same evening after one of them misplaced a backpack containing R800. During this return visit, the four inmates in the cell were interrogated, allegedly assaulted and tortured over the missing money. These claims were initially denied by the DST officials and the contractor.”

The department also said the two events of March 11 and 12 were not connected and Mkhumbeni's death was unnatural.

“A sanctioned postmortem examination concluded Mkhumbeni's death was unnatural, caused by complications from pepper spray exposure and blunt force trauma, resulting in a formal classification of the case as murder.”

The officials involved were suspended while the managers remained in active operations, prompting the temporary manager to withdraw the operational certificate of the operations director.

“The investigation moved further to confirm the contractor's failure to adhere to its obligations under the concession contract. In essence, senior managers who were required to provide oversight during and after the search failed to intervene or report the assault. Their claims of not witnessing the incident have been found to lack credibility.

“Even more concerning, G4S and its employees sought to conceal the truth and obscure the investigation. This is viewed in a serious light as it is tantamount to defeating the ends of justice.”

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