4 prison warders arrested for the murder of an inmate at Mangaung prison
Mpho Mkhumbeni died in early March following an unauthorised raid of his cell in the prison.
Mangaung Correctional Centre, where murderer and rapist Thabo Bester escaped in May 2022. Picture: Katlego Jiyane/ Eyewitness News.
JOHANNESBURG - Four prison warders have been arrested in connection with the murder of an inmate at the Mangaung Correctional Facility in the Free State.
Mpho Mkhumbeni died in early March following an unauthorised raid of his cell in the prison.
It’s understood that he was pepper-sprayed and beaten the night before passing on the next day.
It’s alleged that a member of the dedicated search team accused Mkhumbeni and his cellmates of stealing R800 from his bag, which he forgot in the cell following the raid.
Last week, Eyewitness News reported that seven prison officials at the controversial, privately-run G4S prison were suspended.
Despite initial reports that Mkhumbeni's death was a result of natural causes, an autopsy has now revealed otherwise.
The police’s Brigadier Motantsi Makhele said: "An inquest docket was opened for further investigations. However, subsequent postmortem results indicated that Mr Mkhumbeni died due to unnatural causes. These findings led investigators to change the inquest docket to a murder investigation. Further investigations by the Bloemspruit police on the evening of Tuesday, 22 April 2025, resulted in the arrest of four warders, aged between 34 and 50, for the alleged murder of the inmate."
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