List of 15 maximum prisons in South Africa in 2024: Worst prisons in SA

A prison or detention center is a facility where inmates are confined. The government authorizes these facilities to deny prisoners various freedoms as punishment for crimes. Maximum prisons in South Africa have the highest security level because they house inmates with significant histories of violence. Discover the 15 worst maximum prisons in SA below:

This article lists prisons in South Africa with inmates who have received lengthy sentences for committing the most violent crimes. Prisons mentioned here are not listed in any particular order since in-depth information about the security and nature of prisoners hosted in these facilities is out of public reach. Nonetheless, it is publicly known that all maximum prisons in SA are the most heavily guarded.

Maximum prisons in South Africa list

Maximum security prisons hold the most dangerous and hardened criminals who are deemed a threat to inmates with petty crimes, correctional officers/guards, and society as a whole. The conditions inside these prisons can be harsh, with limited recreation, solitary confinement, and strict monitoring of prisoners. Inmates typically spend 23 hours a day in their cells. Each cell has a heavy door, a small window to see through, and a slot for the food tray. Maximum prisons this article discusses are:

• The Pretoria Central Prison
• Kokstad’s C-Max Prison
• The Robben Island Prison
• Pollsmoor Prison
• The Mangaung Prison
• The Helderstroom Correctional Services
• Westville Correctional Facility
• Leeuwkop Prison
• Grootvlei Prison
• Modderbee Correctional Services
• Boksburg Prison
• Johannesburg Prison
• Matatshe Prison
• Brandvlei Correctional Centre
• Zonderwater Prison

Remand centers are necessary for every society that wants to control crime rates. Time spent in correctional centers can deter law offenders from future crime or rehabilitate offenders by providing vocational training or wellness programs. Check out the following list of maximum prisons in SA:

1. Kgosi Mampuru Correctional Centre

• Open: 1907
• Location: Tshwane, Pretoria
• Security class: Maximum

Former South African President Jacob Zuma renamed the Pretoria Central Prison to Kgosi Mampuru II Management Area in 2013. Mampuru II (born 1824 – died 22 November 1883) was a king of the Pedi people in southern Africa.

The Kgosi Mampuru II Correctional Facility has South Africa's most chilling gallows turned into a museum. The nooses hanging from the ceiling and walls lined with the names of the prisoners are a reminder of how far SA has come as a nation.

The gallows were dismantled in 1996 after South Africa discontinued the death sentence. The place was restored into a museum and a heritage site in honor of those who lost their lives there.

2. Kokstad’s C-Max Prison

• Open: 2002
• Location: Kokstad, KwaZulu-Natal
• Security class: Maximum

eBongweni C-Max Prison (or Kokstad maximum prisons in South Africa) has the lowest inmate escapes and riots rates. It is the strictest maximum correctional center in SA. The facility hosts the most dangerous criminals and the most problematic gang leaders in the country. It is protected with electronic doors, CCTV cameras, and other hi-tech control security systems.

3. The Robben Island Prison

• Opened: 1961
• Closed: 2011
• Location: Robben Island, Cape Town
• Security class: Maximum-minimum

Based in Cape Town, the Robben Island Prison is regarded as the most extreme correctional facility in South Africa. The facility is globally famous because, before the fall of apartheid, Nelson Mandela (a Nobel Laureate and former President of South Africa) was imprisoned there for 18 of the 27 years he served behind bars. The facility is currently inactive but well-maintained.

4. Pollsmoor Prison

• Opened: 1964
• Location: Tokai, Cape Town
• Security class: Maximum

Pollsmoor Prison is in the Cape Town suburb of Tokai. The historic facility is surrounded by some of the city's oldest wine estates and upmarket suburbs. Pollsmoor Prison is regarded as the largest prison in the Western Cape Province.

The facility is also regarded as one of the most dangerous prisons in South Africa. It was meant to host 3,900 inmates but now has about 8,900 prisoners.

Additionally, the facility housed prominent anti-apartheid and democracy activists Nelson Mandela, Walter Sisulu, and Ahmed Kathrada, who were incarcerated at Robben Island. Allan Boesak was also jailed here after being convicted of fraud.

5. The Mangaung Prison

• Opened: 2001
• Location: Bloemfontein, Free State
• Security class: Maximum

The Mangaung Prison is a privately managed prison run by the Bloemfontein Corrections Consortium (BCC). The British company, G4S, owns a 20% stake in the company and is responsible for operating the facility.

The Mangaung Prison hosts way beyond its capacity of 3,000 inmates. Between 2017 and April 2023, G4S reported almost 5,000 security incidents at this facility to the Department of Correctional Services.

Among them were injuries, assaults between inmates, gang fights, assaults on officials, inmates being beaten, natural and unnatural deaths, attempted suicides, and hunger strikes.

6. The Helderstroom Correctional Services

• Location: Winelands, Western Cape
• Security class: Maximum

The Helderstroom Correctional Services is in Winelands, Western Cape, 120 kilometers from Cape Town. The inmates' basic physical needs are met, but work is mainly unskilled, and rehabilitative programming is almost nonexistent.

Inmate gangs are common in Helderstroom. The fundamental problem at the facility is a lack of resources, and even detention under humane conditions will be impossible if the prison population continues to increase.

7. Westville Correctional Facility

• Opened: 1900s
• Location: Westville, Durban
• Security class: Maximum

The Westville Correctional Facility is the only correctional center in Durban. As of 2005, there were 40,000 inmates at this prison. Roosfontein Nature Reserve is a buffer area surrounding the rest of the Westville Correctional Facility.

8. Leeuwkop Prison

• Open: 1960s
• Location: Bryanston, Johannesburg
• Security class: Maximum

Leeuwkop Prison is a special facility for hardcore criminals. Inmates are isolated for 23 hours a day, and guards and wardens move them around using special equipment like electric shields.

9. Grootvlei Prison

• Location: Bloemfontein, Free State
• Security class: Maximum

Grootvlei is one of the worst prisons in South Africa. The facility hosts inmates who have exhibited consistent disruptive behavior and are regarded as dangerous and violent.

It also houses the largest number of state patients who are not technically prisoners. Some of the patients are usually housed at a psychiatric facility.

State patients are individuals who have been charged with criminal offenses and declared unfit to stand trial or are not criminally responsible because of their mental illness or defect.

10. Modderbee Correctional Services

• Location: Modderfontein, Benoni
• Security class: Maximum

Modderbee Correctional Services is not a nice place to visit because it's sad to see people detained inside this prison. Over the years, the inmates have been notorious for riots and breakouts.

11. Boksburg Prison

• Location: Boksburg, Johannesburg
• Security class: Maximum

The Boksburg Correctional Centre is not so crowded. Nonetheless, the facility has reported cases of unruly inmates trying to prevent prison officials from conducting a mandatory search operation. Videos showing prisoners running around were shared on social media.

12. Johannesburg Prison

• Open: 1893
• Location: Sun City, Johannesburg
• Security class: Maximum

Johannesburg Prison is also known as the Sun City Jail. The facility was officially opened in 1893 and only held white prisoners. Black prisoners were brought in after the Twist Street Jail was converted into a police station in 1894.

The Correctional Services’ Emergency Support Team (EST) conducts routine searches to confiscate contraband items like cell phones, SIM cards, drugs, money, homemade weapons, electric cooking gadgets, and machines for drawing tattoos.

13. Matatshe Prison

• Location: Thohoyandou, Limpopo
• Security class: Maximum

Reports allege that Thohoyandou or Matatshe Prison is the most overcrowded correctional center in South Africa. The center hosts nearly 2,800 inmates, twice more than the 1,100 it was designed for.

A single cell built for one person accommodates seven to nine people. The medium and minimum cells have 1,035 inmates instead of 320, and each cell scheduled to accommodate 20 people accommodates 71, all sharing one toilet and a shower.

14. Brandvlei Correctional Centre

• Open: 2013
• Location: Worcester, Western Cape
• Security class: Maximum

The Brandvlei Correctional Centre (formerly Brandvlei Prison) hosts nearly 3,000 inmates. The former Correctional Services Minister Sibusiso Ndebele opened the facility in 2013. It has adequate security as well as conditions consistent with human dignity.

15. Zonderwater Prison

• Open: 1941
• Location: Worcester, Western Cape
• Security class: Maximum

Zonderwater Correctional Service is a maximum security prison. It was the largest of the eighteen known World War II Italian POW camps.

The camp held 120,000 prisoners, but the largest number it ever had at one time was 90,000. The Zonderwater camp (April 1941 to January 1947) was divided into fourteen blocks, each designed to accommodate 8,000 men. A block was subdivided into four camps, each with approximately 2,000 men.

The camp had schools, arts and crafts workshops, theatres and orchestras, and sports like soccer, tennis, handball, bowls, boxing, and fencing.

What are the top 20 dangerous prisons in South Africa?

Some of the most secured prisons in South Africa are:

• The Pretoria Central Prison
• Kokstad’s C-Max Prison
• The Robben Island Prison
• Pollsmoor Prison
• The Mangaung Prison
• The Helderstroom Correctional Services
• Westville Correctional Facility
• Leeuwkop Prison
• Grootvlei Prison
• Modderbee Correctional Services
• Boksburg Prison
• Johannesburg Prison
• Matatshe Prison
• Brandvlei Correctional Centre
• Zonderwater Prison
• The Old Gaol Building
• Drakenstein Correctional Centre
• Baviaanspoort Prison
• Modimolle Correctional Centre
• Voorberg Prison

Who runs prisons in South Africa?

The Department of Correctional Services runs prisons in South Africa.

How much does it cost to house a prisoner in South Africa?

The Department of Correctional Services spent roughly R447 daily (R163 155 in a year) per prisoner in the 2019/2020 budget. The Correctional Services Minister Ronald Lamola revealed in 2021 that each prisoner costs taxpayers R10,890 a month.

How many prisons do we have in South Africa?

South Africa has 243 correctional centers, with a total inmate population of approximately 189,748. In some prisons, single cells house three prisoners, making them extremely crowded.

How many prisoners are in a cell in South Africa?

Some prisons house more than three prisoners in single cells. For example, a cell measuring fifty-six square feet in Pollsmoor maximum security prison houses three inmates, barely leaving enough room for them to spread their sleeping mats.

How many private prisons are in South Africa?

South Africa has two maximum-security private prisons (or joint-venture prisons): the Mangaung Correctional Centre is run by G4S (a British security company). In contrast, the Kutama Sinthumule Correctional Centre is run by the GEO Group (an American private corrections company).

How many prisons are there in Pretoria?

Pretoria has six correctional centers, including a women's prison and the Pretoria Local Prison.

How many prisons are in Free State, South Africa?

Free State has 34 correctional centers in 27 management areas.

Which are the two super-maximum prisons in South Africa?

The C-Max in Pretoria and Ebongweni in Kokstad are the biggest super-max prisons in South Africa.

What is the most feared prison in South Africa?

Pollsmoor Prison in Cape Town is South Africa's most terrifying and dangerous prison.

What is the name of the prison in Durban?

Westville Prison is on the outskirts of Westville, a town inland of Durban.

How many remand centers are there in Durban?

The Westville Correctional Facility is the only correctional center in Durban.

How many prisons are in Gauteng?

Gauteng has 12 management areas and 26 prisons. These facilities include C-max, maximum, medium, female, and juvenile management areas and prisons.

Which South African prison is famous?

Robben Island is the most famous South African prison. The facility was built during World War II and used as South Africa's maximum-security prison from the mid-1960s to 1991. Like Nelson Mandela, most inmates detained here were black men incarcerated for political offenses. The last of these prisoners were released in 1991.

What is the most dangerous prison in South Africa?

The Kokstad maximum prisons in South Africa is the highest maximum correctional center.

What are the 5 largest prisons in the world?

The world's largest prisons – listed by inmate population capacity – are:

• Center for the Confinement of Terrorism, El Salvador - 40,000 prisoners
• New Bilibid Prison, Manila, Philippines - 36,000 inmates
• La Esperanza, El Salvador - over 33,000 inmates
• Marmara Penitentiaries Campus, Turkey - 22,000 inmates
• Tihar Jail, New Delhi, India - nearly 20,000 inmates

What is the world's most maximum security prisons?

Some of the most secure prisons in the world are:

• Alcatraz Federal Penitentiary in the USA
• La Santé Prison in France
• The Federal Correctional Complex in the USA
• Arthur Road Jail (also known as Mumbai Central Jail) in India
• Fuchu Prison in Japan
• Tadmor Military Prison in Syria
• Camp Delta in the USA
• HMP Belmarsh in the UK
• Quincheng Prison in China

What are the top 10 most dangerous prisoners in South Africa?

Some of the most dangerous prisoners ever reported in South Africa are:

• Ananias Mathe - Mozambican armed robber
• Jack Mogale - South African serial killer
• Jimmy Maketta - South African serial killer
• Sipho Thwala - South African serial killer
• Elias Xitavhudzi - South African serial killer

Most maximum prisons in South Africa are overcrowded, thus undermining the living conditions of the inmates. Also, most detainees cannot access proper medical attention, and only a tiny percentage can access education and sports activities.

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Source: Briefly News