The Department of Correctional Services says it searched a unit at the Kgosi Mampuru II Correctional Facility in Pretoria and seized a range of banned items after a video of inmates dancing and playing music circulated on social media.

What the video shows

The footage shows inmates dancing in a cell while others laugh and join in. A man who appears to be disbarred advocate Malesela Teffo is among those seen, and a laptop is visible on a bed. It is not clear from the reports on what date the video was filmed or when the search took place.

What was seized

DCS spokesperson Singabakho Nxumalo listed the items found: 5 cellphones, 3 routers, 1 laptop, 2 bank cards, 11 chargers, 3 USB devices, 16 packets of illicit cigarettes, 5 balls of dagga, 194 Mandrax tablets, 2 hacksaw blades and various sharp objects.

Nxumalo said the items "underscore the seriousness of the security breaches" the department is trying to address.

What DCS says happens next

National Commissioner Makgothi Samuel Thobakgale ordered an urgent search of the unit. He said: "No individual, whether an offender or an official, will be allowed to undermine the integrity of the correctional system."

According to the department, inmates found with contraband will face internal disciplinary proceedings, and their conduct will be taken into account when their profiles are assessed for placement and privileges. DCS says it will also investigate how the recording device and other banned items entered the facility, and that "any possible involvement or negligence by officials will also be investigated".

What we do not yet know

  • The exact date and time of the search.
  • Whether the device used to film the video was among the items seized.
  • Whether anyone will face new criminal charges, as opposed to internal disciplinary action.
  • The identification of the man in the footage has been described with a hedge in some accounts, and the department's own statement should be checked.

Anyone facing disciplinary action or investigation is presumed innocent of any wrongdoing until the process is complete.