Correctional Services union wants probe after Goodwood Prison inmate accessed cellphone
The union said the outcomes of the investigation should guide the disciplinary proceedings if officials are implicated.
Picture: Pexels
JOHANNESBURG - The South African Correctional Services Workers Union (SACOSWU) has called for a thorough investigation into how a prisoner from Goodwood Prison had access to a cellphone.
The union said the outcomes of the investigation should guide the disciplinary proceedings if officials are implicated.
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This week, a video went viral on social media showing an inmate boasting about free education, free rental and free food.
Officials subsequently conducted a raid in his cell, resulting in the inmate being moved to the maximum-security section.
SACOSWU said these videos create a bad image for the Department of Correctional Services.
"Prisons are not playgrounds for inmates to play influencers. Inmates who have access to cellphones in prison are not only painting the wardens in [a bad light] by playing influencers, but they also pose a danger to their victims. For instance, Thabo Bester’s access to digital devices proved to be deadly,” said the union's spokesperson Alude Jizana.