The Madlanga Commission has heard that inmates can influence or manipulate correctional services officials in decisions about inmate placement and work allocations.

This is according to Correctional Services Commissioner, Makhothi Thobakgale.

Thobakgale has testified that Choppies, a self-confessed gang member and leader from the Western Cape, was found working in the kitchen at the Kuruman Correctional Facility despite being considered a high-risk inmate.

“I discovered that some of them already belong to some groupings outside, meaning that the presence of Choppies there for more than 12 months in Kuruman was now transforming the crime profile of Kuruman. And he was not supposed to be there. He was supposed to be in a maximum-security facility until he finishes his sentence.”

Thobakgale has testified that he personally receives notifications when attempted murder accused Vusimuzi “Cat” Matlala is moved to ensure that no security breaches occur during his transportation.

Thobakgale has also testified that a gang leader, described as one of the highest ranking in the country, was transferred from Ebongweni Supermax Prison in KwaZulu-Natal to the Western Cape, without following approval processes. He says the transfer caused concern because it unsettled gang dynamics in the Western Cape and should not have happened without his knowledge and authorisation.

“So, as he was moving like that with the group, information started getting out that he’s returning back to the Western Cape, and instilled fear in the communities, but it also unsettled the gangs in the Western Cape because him being there is a statement on its own before anything else happens. So, as a result, we had just to allow him to rest and take him out again of the Western Cape to contribute to stabilization.”