A growing trend of prisoners bragging about the comfortable living conditions they experience in prison via social media has prompted a raid at the Sun City prison in Johannesburg.
Accompanied by members of the South African Police Services (SAPS), the Department of Correctional Services took a stand against what they had witnessed on social media and conducted the raid, in which they seized a variety of unauthorised items.
On Wednesday night, a major raid took place at the Johannesburg Correctional Services Centre, also known as Sun City.
The Department of Correctional Services, in collaboration with officers from the South African Police Service, conducted the operation and confiscated a range… pic.twitter.com/eFdgEOenN8
— MDN NEWS (@MDNnewss) July 25, 2024
Speaking to SABC news, National Correctional Services Commissioner, Makgothi Thobakgale explained the purpose of the raid and what they were hoping to achieve from it.
“We are here as part of the clean-up operation that we have been engaged in for the past three months in different correctional facilities. These are correctional facilities that we have identified based on the information that we have been able to ascertain. We are actually doing a search for contraband. Objects that are not allowed in the correctional facility, especially in the cells.”
Internet users had much to say about the raid, as some took to their social media to applaud the new minister for a job well done.
Our Minister is wearing apron????
— waLefoko™ (@ministerTP__) July 25, 2024
Some user’s are calling for further investigation as they believe the corruption begins with the correctional officer’s.
We are blaming the prisoners but the biggest criminals that need to be questioned are Prison wardens/Officials, how do they get these things inside
— THEGLUE ? (@TMNLMNKRL) July 25, 2024
Some users empathise with the prisoners advocating for more of the unauthorised items to be allowed as they help with the rehabilitation process and help keep the prisoners distracted. “They should be allowed to game, it’s a correctional facility, come on,” says one Facebook user.
Also see: WATCH: Inmate brags about comfortable life in prison
