Standoff looms at maximum-security Mangaung Correctional Centre — Popcru warns of non-cooperation

The Police and Prison Civil Rights Union (Popcru) sent an urgent letter of demand on Monday, accusing the Department of Correctional Services of attempting to bypass a labour court ruling ordering the absorption of former G4S guards at the high-security Mangaung Correctional Centre.

The state-of-the-art maximum security centre outside Bloemfontein featured in national headlines in 2023 when escapee Thabo Bester was arrested a year after walking out of the correctional centre dressed as a prison guard.

The 25-year public/private concession was granted to Bloemfontein Correctional Contracts (BCC), which subcontracted to G4S in March 2000, but is due to revert to state control on Wednesday, 1 July.

The facility faced an immediate takeover by the Department of Correctional Services after Bester’s “embarrassing” escape, an action by National Commissioner of Correctional Services Makgothi Thobakgale, which has since been declared by the high court as unlawful.

PRISON HANDOVER

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No uniforms, no equipment

Mutsengi Attorneys, on behalf of Popcru, wrote to the department requesting the state to urgently provide uniforms and equipment and shift schedules for the incoming workforce by 1 July.

BCC has also warned that the department’s lack of cooperation stands to derail the handover.

BCC’s Itumeleng Mokoena wrote a “record of position” on Monday, copied to President Cyril Ramaphosa, Minister of Correctional Services Pieter Groenewald, Minister of Justice Mmamoloko Kubayi, Acting Minister of Police Firoz Cachalia and others, setting out the outstanding legal matter.

Mokoena wrote in his record that BCC “at no point opposed the conclusion of the concession agreement upon its expiry on 30 July 2026”, however, “for no fewer than six months, in a concerted and transparent manner, BCC has sought to make every stakeholder aware that time was of the essence and that a compliant and cooperative handover, a risk-managed transition and a sustainable improvement of the criminal justice system required timeous preparation and coordination”.

Mokoena noted that this was done through official correspondence, formal representations and public newspaper articles.

“Even in circumstances where those early warnings were not heeded, this remains BCC’s position today,” Mokoena said. Popcru on Monday asked the DSC to provide formal communication and allocation of shifts, beginning on 1 July 2026.

External recruitment

The Popcru legal demand also asks that the DSC stop its “aggressive recruitment process” and that, instead of absorbing G4S staff, this had been “a blatant attempt to circumvent and frustrate the court order”.

The DSC was asked to provide a written and unequivocal undertaking by noon on Monday, 29 June 2026. Daily Maverick approached the Minister of Correctional Services and had not received a reply at the time of writing.

Popcru warned that should demands not be met, it had instructed its attorneys to launch an urgent application for contempt of court against both the minister and the national commissioner and would seek “punitive sanctions and a punitive cost order” against the department.

On 30 April, the labour court declared that the termination of the concession contract constituted a transfer of business as a “going concern” under Section 197 of the Labour Relations Act.

This legally mandates that G4S employees automatically transfer to the Department of Correctional Services. Popcru alleges that the department is operating in “overdrive” with an aggressive recruitment process for roles at the MCC.

The department initially attempted to stay the execution of the court order and filed for an appeal, but these efforts failed as the appeal was filed “out of time”.

An application by the department to stay the execution of the transfer order was formally dismissed on 18 June 2026, but despite these legal defeats, Popcru claims the department has failed to make the necessary operational preparations.

Mokoena said that BCC “has acted throughout in good faith and as a responsible, ethical and professional corporate citizen and concessionaire”.

“This remains its position, and it is reflected in both the documentary and behavioural evidence trails. BCC stands ready, today and through the conclusion of the concession, to cooperate with every office addressed in this letter to secure the orderly handover, transition and sustainable improvement that the Republic and those in its care deserve”. DM