DCS commissioner wants independent entity to handle criminal, disciplinary matters in Western Cape

By Lebone Rodah Mosima 

The Department of Correctional Services (DCS) has concluded investigations into a series of serious incidents at three Western Cape correctional centres during 2025, including stabbings of officials, deaths of inmates and a deliberate escape enabled by impersonation and operational failures, national commissioner Makgothi Thobakgale said on Monday.

He said that, given the “spate” of incidents and “the prevailing instability in the Western Cape, I, as the National Commissioner, have recommended to the Minister that criminal and disciplinary matters be handled by an independent legal entity external to Correctional Services”.

“The nature of these incidents, combined with the province’s high levels of crime and the alleged orchestration of criminal activity within our correctional centres, necessitates the implementation of extraordinary measures,” he said.

Thobakgale made the statements during a media briefing while giving an update on the outcomes of DCS’s Operation Vala over the festive season.

He said