PE Prison melee forces lockdown

schumi

schumi

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Port Elizabeth - Emergency service personnel have been dispatched to St Albans Prison in Port Elizabeth following a brawl on Monday.

It is understood that the prison is on lockdown while the matter is brought under control and the wounded are tended to.

Eastern Cape Department of Health spokesperson Sizwe Kupelo said that circumstances surrounding the incident remained unclear.

“At this stage we have had a report of a fracas involving inmates and guards. We believe that seven people have been injured and ambulances have been dispatched to the scene,” he said.

This is a developing story.

News24
http://www.news24.com/SouthAfrica/News/pe-prison-melee-forces-lockdown-20161226
 
Three killed, 26 injured in St Albans prison clash

Port Elizabeth - Three people were killed and a further 26 injured in a clash between prisoners and wardens at the St Albans Prison in Nelson Mandela Bay on Monday.

The prison has a history of inmates attacking their guards and has the reputation of being the most violent correctional facility in the Eastern Cape.

Health department spokesperson Sizwe Kupelo confirmed that emergency service personnel had been dispatched to St Albans following a brawl between inmates and guards on Monday.

Kupelo confirmed that one inmate is believed to have died from his injuries at the hospital facility on site, while a further two inmates died from their injuries after being transferred to the Livingstone hospital for further treatment.

Kupelo said several wardens had been among those transported to hospitals and that a total of 26 people had been injured in the brawl, and that 10 were in a critical condition. Kupelo said that circumstances surrounding the incident remained unclear.

Free for all

Eastern Cape Correctional Services Provincial Commissioner, Nkosinathi Breakfast, confirmed that there had been an incident at St Albans prison but said the full details were not yet available and that the department would only be issuing a statement on the matter on Tuesday.

Since the incident the prison has been under lockdown, with no visitors being allowed. Many family members of inmates at the prison, who were hoping to visit their loved ones on Boxing Day, were turned away at the gate.

The incident is believed to have broken out in the C Max section of the prison during the breakfast session, with initial reports that a prisoner stabbed a warder, sparking a free for all. Prisoners, believed to have been armed with shanks - homemade stabbing implements - attacked the wardens, who retaliated.

Sources said it was a well-known fact that inmates pick up rank among the prison gangs if they drew blood from their guards.

In 2014, the SA Correctional Services Workers’ Union (Sacoswu) called for an investigation and sought legal action against the management of the St Albans facility after two guards were stabbed within four days of each other.

At the time Sacoswu said there had been 28 attacks by inmates on warders over a period of 18 months, with many wardens resigning due to the ongoing violence against them.

Kept in the dark

Some family members of prison wardens took to Facebook to complain that they had been kept in the dark by the department following the incident, with rules preventing wardens from carrying cellphones while on duty compounding the situation.

"My sister is working there and shez on duty as we speak all we are doing is 2 pray coz we cant even contact her due 2 cellphones that are not allowed while inmates have landlines are ringing with no response......tough, [sic]" wrote Mapat Mzwali.

Mercia Brink said her brother-in-law also worked at St Albans and she had had to inform her sister about the incident after hearing about it through her sister-in-law.

"We don’t have a clue about what’s going on, cant even call my brother-in-law as they may not have their phones on them. The uncertainty makes a person crazy," she said.

Call for investigation

Democratic Alliance spokesperson on correctional services, James Selfe, said that he was "deeply concerned by reports that one inmate has been killed and another critically injured at the St Albans Prison in Port Elizabeth".

He said the DA would "request that the Department conduct a full and thorough investigation into the events that led to this death and injury".

"It is not the first time that violent events have occurred at this prison and we cannot allow such incidents to go unaccounted for," Selfe said.

"The DA will further be writing to the Chairperson of the Portfolio Committee on Justice and Correctional Services to request the Minister to appear before the Committee as soon as possible at the start of 2017 to account to Parliament for the events," he added.

News24
http://www.news24.com/SouthAfrica/News/three-killed-26-injured-in-st-albans-prison-clash-20161226
 
At least three prisoners were killed when a gang of prisoners allegedly tried to take control of St Albans Prison on Monday morning.

The prison was under lockdown during the fight in which at least 19 others, including prisoners and warders, were injured.

Officials on the scene, who cannot be named, said the prisoners had used teargas – in what they described as “a well-orchestrated attack” – against the correctional services Emergency Response Team (EMT) responding to the fracas.

It is believed that a group of prisoners foced their way into the administration building and locked themselves inside while another group attacked warders in the food hall.

No shots were fired, but at least five warders were injured and taken to hospital.

Officials said one prisoner died on the scene and another two at hospital short after.

Eastern Cape correction services commissioner Nkosinathi Breakfast declined to comment immediately, saying a statement would be issued later once officials had more clarity.

Police spokeswoman Captain Sandra Janse van Rensburg said detectives were investigating.
Click to expand...
More: http://www.heraldlive.co.za/news/2016/12/26/three-killed-several-injured-st-albans-prison-fight/
 
Nkosinathi Breakfast is because of you that the fight started during breakfast. Change your name to Nkosinathi Nofight :)
 
Maybe they should search the cells more often and tighten down on security to prevent the inmates having shanks etc.
 
'Worst of the worst' inmates behind attack on St Albans prison guards

Port Elizabeth - The prisoners who attacked several guards at the St Albans Prison in Nelson Mandela Bay are considered the "worst of the worst" offenders.

During a media briefing at the correctional facility on Tuesday, Deputy Minister of Justice and Correctional Services Thabang Makwetla said the fight had broken out around 10:00 on Monday morning, when 33 prisoners started attacking guards in the dining hall at the end of the morning meal shift.

Makwetla said the inmates had been armed with sharp objects and self-made knives. He said, during the fight, 13 officials were injured, six of them critically. Three prisoners lost their lives: One dying at the prison clinic, while the other two died from their injuries after being transferred to Livingstone Hospital.

He said the names of the deceased would only be released after next of kin had been informed, and said that officials from DCS had been dispatched to inform the relevant families.

Makwetla said those involved in the fight were from cells 22 and 23 in the Maximum B ward.


Gangsterism


He said these cells, which housed eight inmates and 25 inmates respectively, were reserved for the most difficult offenders in the maximum detention facility.

He said the Maximum B facility had a total of 674 inmates in 23 cells, and that the prisoners in cells 1 through 21 had already been to the dining area, had eaten, and had returned to their cells before the attack happened.

Makwetla said there had been a grievance raised by the inmates in these cells relating to certain privileges that had been withheld. He said the complaints had been dealt with, but there had been simmering tension building in the cells.

Department of Correctional Services National Commissioner Zach Modise said one of the biggest challenges facing St Albans was gangsterism, with the numbers gangs - the 26s, 27s and 28s - being well represented.

He said there were particular days of the year, such as December 26, where it was common for gangsters in prison to attack officials.

Overcrowded and understaffed

Modise confirmed that the prison was currently understaffed and that this was aggravated by the public holidays and long weekend, which meant that a number of staff members were off on leave or had the weekend off.

He also pointed out that the facility, which is designed to hold a maximum of 4 000 prisoners, currently had 4 387 convicted criminals, excluding the awaiting trial prisoners.

When questioned about how prisoners had been able to get sharp objects into the common area, Modise said this had been a serious breach, and that investigations were already underway.

Makwetla said a formal internal departmental query had been launched, and that the police were in the process of conducting their own, independent investigation.

He also said the Judicial Inspectorate of Correctional Services had been informed of the incident and had also confirmed that they would also be dealing with the case.

Modise and Makwetla both commended the correctional services officials who had been released from hospital after being treated and who had reported for duty on Tuesday morning. They also expressed their condolences and sympathies to the families of the deceased.

The Maximum B section currently remains under lockdown, while the rest of the facility has reopened for visitors.

News24
http://www.news24.com/SouthAfrica/N...nd-attack-on-st-albans-prison-guards-20161227
 
Fatal prison clash: State must aid families with burials

Johannesburg – Rights activist Miles Bhudu says the government needs to contribute towards the decent burial of three inmates who died after clashes with officials at St Albans prison in Port Elizabeth.

Bhudu, president of the SA Prisoners’ Organisation for Human Rights, said that through investigations by the Department of Correctional Services to establish what happened at the prison, Deputy Minister Thabang Makwetla and his commissioner Zach Modise needed to ensure the families of the deceased were assisted.

“They must take full responsibility and help those families with burying their loved ones whether they (families) can afford it or not,” he said.

The prison, which is on lockdown, has placed a ban on visits until further notice.

Bhudu said the organisation was in talks with the department to assist some of the worried families.

“While families of those who have died have been notified, some families are unable to check up on their next of kin, who are injured, because of the restrictions.”

Bhudu said that at this stage Sapohr had little information about the prisoners who had died.

Meanwhile, the department said its festive season safety operations were continuing at prisons across the country after the brawl at St Albans.
Click to expand...

More at: http://www.iol.co.za/news/crime-cou...-state-must-aid-families-with-burials-7286480
 
schumi said:
Eastern Cape Correctional Services Provincial Commissioner, Nkosinathi Breakfast, confirmed that there had been an incident at St Albans prison but said the full details were not yet available and that the department would only be issuing a statement on the matter on Tuesday.

The incident is believed to have broken out in the C Max section of the prison during the breakfast session,
Click to expand...

ban breakfasts (and chicken wings)
 
St Albans prisoners on hunger strike as tensions reach boiling point

Port Elizabeth - Tensions between prisoners and correctional officials at St Albans maximum prison are at boiling point as prisoners have now embarked on a hunger strike in protest.

Eastern Cape Correctional Services spokesperson Nkosinathi Breakfast confirmed to News24 that offenders had not touched their daily meals at the facility since Tuesday.

Breakfast said while offenders have refused to eat food from correctional services suppliers, "most of them are eating stock bought by their families and friends".

There are a few who have no family provisions but are continuing with the strike.

Breakfast said he met with two offenders from each cell to discuss their grievances on Thursday but refused to tell News24 any of their complaints.

"Yesterday, I addressed all offenders and also I gave them an opportunity to raise complaints with me. Each cell was represented by two inmates. I can't comment on various complaints... There is tension between inmates and officials and officials each day feel like it could be their last and so do the offenders."

He however later said that one of the complaints raised by the offenders was that they were not receiving adequate exercise time.

"Some say they do not have enough time to exercise and we need to investigate whether an hour is enough. There are common complaints but there are also individual complaints and they will all be addressed. There is obvious tension and it is receiving [the attention of the national] correctional services department."

On Monday, violence broke out between inmates and correctional services officials. Three prisoners were killed and 26 officials injured.

Some of the inmates had been armed with sharp objects and self-made knives.
Breakfast said the tension at the prison had been brewing for more than five years.

News24
http://www.news24.com/SouthAfrica/N...rike-as-tensions-reach-boiling-point-20161230
 
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