“They’ve Vanished”: South Africa Fails to Trace Nearly 28,000 Dangerous Parolees

• South Africa’s Department of Correctional Services cannot account for nearly 28,000 high-risk parolees, including convicted murderers, rapists and armed robbers who have absconded
• Insiders claim parole officers are overwhelmed, under-resourced and struggling to monitor dangerous offenders due to staff shortages, lack of vehicles and poor tracking systems
• The shocking revelations have sparked fears over public safety and renewed criticism of South Africa’s troubled parole system

SOUTH AFRICA - South Africa’s Department of Correctional Services (DCS) is unable to trace nearly 28,000 high-risk parolees who have disappeared while serving parole in communities across the country.

The missing parolees include convicted murderers, rapists, kidnappers and armed robbers.

Investigation uncovers 'vanished' parolees

According to an investigation by amaBhungane, many of them have been missing for years, raising fears about public safety.

DCS confirmed that 27,797 parolees are currently listed as absconders. More than 15,000 of these cases involve offenders released between 1991 and 2004 who were never rearrested. Sources within the department claim many of these old files are simply collecting dust.

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Gauteng has the highest number of missing parolees with over 9,300 cases, followed by KwaZulu-Natal and the Western Cape. Some areas in KZN, including Inanda, KwaMashu and Ntuzuma, reportedly have especially high numbers of absconders.

Parole officers told amaBhungane they are overwhelmed and badly under-resourced. South Africa currently has nearly 45,000 active parolees but only 968 parole monitors, leaving each official responsible for around 46 offenders.

See Tumi Sole's X post on the Amabhungane report:

DSC officials lack proper resources

Officials also say they often lack vehicles, firearms and proper technology to safely monitor dangerous criminals. In some high-risk communities, officers stopped conducting evening visits because of safety concerns.

The report also found serious failures in the system used to track parolees. In many cases, absconders are not properly reported to the police database, meaning officers may not even realise a suspect is a wanted parolee when arrested again.

DCS spokesperson Singabakho Nxumalo insisted the department has systems in place to trace absconders and return them to prison. However, insiders dispute this and claim specialised tracing units were phased out years ago.

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Correctional Services Minister Dr Pieter Groenewald recently warned that too many dangerous offenders are being released on parole despite concerns about reoffending.

The investigation has renewed questions about whether South Africa’s parole system is failing to protect communities from repeat offenders.

Convicted killer denied parole

In related news, South Africans celebrated the Parole Board's decision to deny convicted murderer Donovan Moodley parole. The Department of Correctional Services said on 19 December 2025 that the National Council for Correctional Services recommended that Correctional Services Minister Pieter Groenewald should not grant Moodley parole. His parole application will be reconsidered in 24 months. Groenewald said that all structures involved in the parole consideration process must be satisfied that an offender has been rehabilitated and fit to be reintegrated into the community.

Former first lady's killer released on parole

Previously, Briefly News reported that the man who took the life of former apartheid first lady Marike De Klerk was set to be released on parole after spending just over 20 years behind bars. Luyanda Mboniswa was sentenced to two life sentences in the Western Cape High Court in 2003, two years after he brutally murdered De Klerk in her upscale Dolphin Beach apartment in Bloubergstrand.

Source: Briefly News