On visiting the home of a convicted rapist in Kwanobuhle, knocks at the door went unanswered, despite parole conditions stipulating house arrest at night. The parolee will be tracked down and taken into custody to verify the reasons for violating his parole conditions. (Photo: Riaan Marais) 
Parolees in Kwanobuhle, Nelson Mandela Bay, were caught off guard at the weekend when the national commissioner of Correctional Services paid them a surprise visit on Saturday night.
While some of his drop-ins yielded positive feedback, Makgothi Thobakgale took a no-nonsense approach with anyone deemed out of line with the conditions of their release from prison.
His visit to Nelson Mandela Bay was part of a national initiative to ensure compliance among parolees, and the weekend’s operation focused specifically on offenders convicted of gender-based violence and other serious crimes.
/file/dailymaverick/wp-content/uploads/2025/08/Parole-1.jpg "National Commissioner of Correctional Services Makgothi Thobakgale (left) was accompanied by Eastern Cape regional commissioner Lucky Mthethwa during an operation to check on parolees in Kwanobuhle.(Photo: Riaan Marais)")
The commissioner’s visit came just a few months after renewed calls for amendments to parole legislation following multiple instances of the release of parolees who went to prison for crimes against children, only to commit similar crimes.
Read more: Calls for urgent overhaul of parole system following disturbing crimes against children
“Through this project, we hope to attack crime from all angles. We are working closely with the police, and during the course of our operation we will likely identify the need to call on the support of other agencies as well, like the National Prosecuting Authority, immigration or other relevant departments,” Thobakgale said.
Before coming to the Eastern Cape, Correctional Services had similar operations in Mpumalanga and KwaZulu-Natal.
“A successful night for us would mean all parolees are where they should be, and we find nothing out of place. But chances are that won’t be the case, and we will be forced to take the appropriate actions against them.”
Mixed results
Within the first four house calls, the delegation had a mixed bag of results, confirming Thobakgale’s suspicions. On arrival at the home of Lindile Didiza, the convicted rapist was not home despite his parole conditions stipulating house arrest at night.
A family member quickly ran down the street to call him home from a nearby tavern, and a clearly intoxicated Didiza had no response to queries from the parole officer and the national commissioner. Thobakgale immediately ordered that he be taken into custody.
“He needs to sober up, and we need to reconsider our position on his parole conditions. The names on this list are violent offenders. They pose a threat to their families and their communities, especially when they are in the condition this man is in,” Thobakgale said, referring to Didiza’s inebriated state.
Before arriving at Didiza’s home, officials’ knocks also went unanswered at the door of another convicted rapist. Through the windows at the parolee’s home, it was clear that the television was on, but all the doors were locked.
According to a parole officer, the offender landed a job at a construction company and sometimes spent extended periods away from home. However, this time the offender had not communicated with correctional services and was supposed to be at home.
The commissioner advised the parole officer to make contact with the offender and take him back into custody until the reason behind his absence had been investigated.
Positive outcome
/file/dailymaverick/wp-content/uploads/2025/08/Parole-3.jpg "Zola Erasi, convicted of robbery with aggravating circumstances, has been working towards an engineering qualification since his release on parole three years ago. National Commissioner of Correctional Services Makgothi Thobakgale commended him for his efforts to turn his life around. (Photo: Riaan Marais)")
However, the operation was not all bad news, and a visit to the home of Zola Erasi yielded positive results.
Erasi was convicted of robbery with aggravating circumstances and was released on parole three years ago. He has three more years of his full sentence to serve.
Since his release, Erasi has kept himself out of trouble, adhered to his parole conditions and is on the cusp of completing a diploma in engineering studies.
“This visit definitely came as a surprise, but I am glad the commissioner was here. Now he also knows that I am complying and I am making serious strides to turn my life around.
“Change comes with consequences, and those consequences are not easy. But I am determined to improve my life, and when my parole is complete in 2028, I will be a new man,” Erasi said.
‘Valuable exercise’
Thobakgale said the operation in Kwanobuhle was a valuable exercise, not only to enforce parole conditions, but also to show the public that correctional services was active beyond the prison walls.
“Our parole officers do these visits on a regular basis, but we want to show that they do not work in isolation and they have the backing of the department to conduct their operations. They do dangerous work, and we need the public, and especially the parolees, to know they have backup.”
The commissioner said physically monitoring parolees came with limitations, and the department was looking at deploying electronic monitoring devices soon.
“There are certain hurdles we need to overcome, but we have seen these devices at work in other countries. This gives us real-time information about our parolees and will make enforcing their conditions much easier.” DM