Some Kgosi Mampuru prison inmates complain of ill-treatment at hands of prison wardens

PRETORIA - Some inmates at the Kgosi Mampuru Correctional Centre in Pretoria have complained of being tortured and ill-treated by prison wardens.

Convicted fraudster and Eldorado Park gangster, Jermain Prim, told Parliament’s portfolio committee on correctional services that he was being treated like an animal.

The committee conducted an oversight visit at the prison on Wednesday, assessing the challenges faced by inmates and prison officials.

As members of Parliament entered the maximum-security division in the Kgosi Mampuru Correctional Centre, they were greeted by high-profile inmates who were peeping through the tiny openings on the doors of their prison cells.

Some inmates watched in silence as MPs filled the corridors in the C-Max division, but others were brave enough to speak out about the conditions they’re subjected to.

Prim, a notorious Johannesburg gangster, was the first to speak on the treatment of prisoners in this facility. 

"Your rights get taken away and they just don't care. You can see I've got reports here but half the time they don't even read the reports or reply to the reports. This is the only prison where every single right gets violated."

In 2022, news broke that the Eldorado Park gangster was running a sophisticated car theft syndicate targeting Mercedes-Benz owners, all from his prison cell.

Parliament’s correctional services committee has committed to following up on concerns that inmates are being tortured and abused by wardens in prisons.

The committee’s chairperson, Anthea Ramolobeng, said she would engage prison officials on some of the concerns that inmates raised.

“It’s an outcry of everywhere, where inmates raise concerns that they are being ill- or assaulted,” she said. 

The Kgosi Mampuru correctional facility is one of two c-max prisons in the country.

These are facilities specifically designed for violent and disruptive prisoners.