Inmate stabs prison's female chief

A female head of the Baviaanspoort Maximum Prison in Roodeplaat, Pretoria, was allegedly stabbed in the face by an inmate serving a life imprisonment sentence.

A source told Sowetan that the official was on duty and attended to complaints about three other inmates in her office on Sunday.

The inmate allegedly walked into the office and took out a knife and stabbed her close to the eye.

He said the inmate is alleged to be a member of a notorious "numbers gang" called 26s who believe in stabbing officials for promotion and respect in their gangs.

"The official was fortunate, because there were three other officers and three other inmates present and she was rescued and taken to hospital to receive medical attention," the so source said.

He raised concerns about security in prisons, saying the department needed to tighten security for female officials, especially those who work at maximum prisons.

"If the officers were not present for assistance, she could have been kidnapped and raped and even fatally wounded. The department is taking chances by exposing females to such conditions of dangerous inmates serving life time imprisonment in all regions.

"Prisoners are sent to correctional centres for rehabilitation, but some get comfortable with doing crime and keep bad behaviour when they should be working towards being better human beings."

He said gang members fight for titles in prison.

"Being glorified comes at a bloody price," said the source.

Correctional services spokesperson Zandile Mabunda confirmed the incident.

"The head of the centre was stabbed, injured and treated in our centre clinic. The matter is under investigation. The three offenders were referred to the psychologist and they are receiving counseling.

"Unfortunately we cannot provide more information so as to not compromises the investigation. We will await the outcome of the investigation," Mabunda said.