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Pretoria Central Prison, renamed Kgosi Mampuru II Management Area by former President
Jacob Zuma Jacob Gedleyihlekisa Zuma (; born 12 April 1942) is a South African politician who served as the fourth president of South Africa from 2009 to 2018. He is also referred to by his initials JZ and clan name Msholozi, and was a former anti-aparth ...
on 13 April 2013 and sometimes referred to as Kgosi Mampuru II Correctional Services is a large
prison A prison, also known as a jail, gaol (dated, standard English, Australian, and historically in Canada), penitentiary (American English and Canadian English), detention center (or detention centre outside the US), correction center, correc ...
in central
Pretoria Pretoria () is South Africa's administrative capital, serving as the seat of the Executive (government), executive branch of government, and as the host to all foreign embassies to South Africa. Pretoria straddles the Apies River and extends ...
, within the
City of Tshwane The City of Tshwane Metropolitan Municipality (also known as the City of Tshwane) () is the metropolitan municipality that forms the local government of northern Gauteng Province, South Africa. The Metropolitan area is centred on the city of Pr ...
in
South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring countri ...
. It is operated by the
South African Department of Correctional Services The Department of Correctional Services is a department of the South African government. It is responsible for running South Africa's prison system. The department has about 34,000 staff and is responsible for the administration of 240 prisons, ...
. The complex comprises six correctional centres, including the notorious C Max, Pretoria Local Prison, and a women's prison. The new name is the same as the street name (renamed in the previous year), with both now bearing the name of Kgosi Mampuru, a 19th-century local chief who resisted colonial rule and was subsequently hanged in 1883.


History


1948-1991: Apartheid era

During the
apartheid Apartheid (, especially South African English: , ; , "aparthood") was a system of institutionalised racial segregation that existed in South Africa and South West Africa (now Namibia) from 1948 to the early 1990s. Apartheid was ...
years, the huge complex was often known incorrectly as "Pretoria Central". In fact there were three separate clusters of prisons: Pretoria Central Prison proper, Pretoria (Local) Prison and a third known only as "Maximum" or "Beverley Hills". The latter was the ultra-maximum security section. There were also housing and recreational facilities for the
prison warden The warden (United States, US, Canada) or governor (United Kingdom, UK, Australia), also known as a superintendent (US, South Asia) or director (UK, New Zealand), is the official who is in charge of a prison. Name In the United States and Canad ...
s. divided into separate prisons for males and females of different racial classifications. It was on what was then Potgieter Street, later renamed Kgosi Mampuru Street. Pretoria Central Prison was the official site of
capital punishment in South Africa Capital punishment in South Africa was abolished on 6 June 1995 by the ruling of the Constitutional Court in the case of ''S v Makwanyane'', following a five-year and four-month moratorium since February 1990. History The standard method for ca ...
during the apartheid era. Condemned prisoners were held in a section of the prison called "The Pot". At one time, the prison
gallows A gallows (or scaffold) is a frame or elevated beam, typically wooden, from which objects can be suspended (i.e., hung) or "weighed". Gallows were thus widely used to suspend public weighing scales for large and heavy objects such as sacks ...
could hang up to seven people at a time. Pretoria Central proper consisted of a number of separate prison buildings, each housing various divisions of prisoners based on racial classification and gender. This was a national prison and reception centre where many prisoners started and ended their sentences. Pretoria Prison, or Pretoria Local, housed local prisoners (split by race) as well as having a maximum security section for white political prisoners (black political prisoners being held in
Robben Island Robben Island ( af, Robbeneiland) is an island in Table Bay, 6.9 kilometres (4.3 mi) west of the coast of Bloubergstrand, north of Cape Town, South Africa. It takes its name from the Dutch word for seals (''robben''), hence the Dutch/Afrik ...
), recidivists, habitual escapees, and the condemned. The section housing the white male political prisoners was an L-shaped three-storey building built in the late 1960s, consisting of 52 cells. As of 1978, the maximum number housed had been 22, with the average about 10; for this reason the remaining cells were occupied by prisoners awaiting trial. The inmates included
Denis Goldberg Denis Theodore Goldberg (11 April 1933 – 29 April 2020) was a South African social campaigner, who was active in the struggle against apartheid. He was accused No. 3 in the Rivonia Trial, alongside the better-known Nelson Mandela and Walter ...
(who had been sentenced at the
Rivonia Trial The Rivonia Trial took place in South Africa between 9 October 1963 and 12 June 1964, and led to the imprisonment of Nelson Mandela and the others among the accused who were convicted of sabotage and sentenced to life at the Palace of Justice ...
with
Nelson Mandela Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela (; ; 18 July 1918 – 5 December 2013) was a South African Internal resistance to apartheid, anti-apartheid activist who served as the President of South Africa, first president of South Africa from 1994 to 1 ...
and other ANC leaders),
Raymond Suttner Raymond Suttner (born ) is South African activist, academic, journalist and public figure. Education and activism Suttner was born in Durban, South Africa. He obtained BA and LLB degrees from the University of Cape Town and an inter-disciplinar ...
, and
Jeremy Cronin Jeremy Patrick Cronin (born 12 September 1949) is a South African writer, author, and noted poet. A longtime activist in politics, Cronin is a member of the South African Communist Party and a former member of the National Executive Committee of ...
. The old Pretoria Local Prison building was demolished around 1978 after other buildings had been built adjacent to it.


1979 escape

In 1979 white political prisoners
Tim Jenkin Timothy Peter Jenkin (born 1948) is a South African writer, former anti-apartheid activist and political prisoner. He is best known for his 1979 escape from Pretoria Local Prison (part of the Pretoria Central Prison complex), along with Steph ...
,
Alex Moumbaris Alexandre Moumbaris is a political activist and former political prisoner. He was born in Egypt to Greeks, Greek parents, grew up in Australia, lived and worked in the United Kingdom, UK, was imprisoned in South Africa and now lives in France. H ...
and Stephen Lee escaped from "the Local". After this escape, the building in which they had been held was completely refurbished with increased security features.


Post-apartheid


2006: C Max escape

In November 2006 Annanias Mathe became the first prisoner to escape from the C Max part of the prison complex. He was recaptured two weeks after his escape.


2013: renaming

The complex was renamed Kgosi Mampuru II Management Area by President
Jacob Zuma Jacob Gedleyihlekisa Zuma (; born 12 April 1942) is a South African politician who served as the fourth president of South Africa from 2009 to 2018. He is also referred to by his initials JZ and clan name Msholozi, and was a former anti-aparth ...
on 13 April 2013.


2017: riot

A prison warden and an inmate were injured during a prison riot in July 2017, after prisoners' concerns over delays in processing
parole Parole (also known as provisional release or supervised release) is a form of early release of a prison inmate where the prisoner agrees to abide by certain behavioral conditions, including checking-in with their designated parole officers, or ...
applications, poor food, overcrowding and violence by wardens were sent in a memorandum to the justice minister
Michael Masutha Tshililo Michael Masutha is a South African advocate and retired politician. He was born in Valdezia in 1965 in Northern Transvaal, what is now Limpopo province, in South Africa. He is the former Minister of Justice and Correctional Services. Be ...
, who had been
Minister of Justice and Correctional Services The Minister of Justice and Correctional Services is the justice minister in the government of South Africa. He is the political head of the Department of Justice and Constitutional Development (DoJCD), the Department of Correctional Services (DC ...
since 2014.


Composition

The complex comprises six correctional centres, and includes a women's prison and Pretoria Local Prison. The
remand centre Remand, also known as pre-trial detention, preventive detention, or provisional detention, is the process of detaining a person until their trial after they have been arrested and charged with an offence. A person who is on remand is held i ...
is in the front of the facility. The supermax prison, now known as C Max and on the site of the former
death row Death row, also known as condemned row, is a place in a prison that houses inmates awaiting Capital punishment, execution after being convicted of a capital crime and sentenced to death. The term is also used figuratively to describe the state of ...
, is in the centre of the facility, on the lee of a hill.


C Max

C Max is the maximum security division of the prison. It is run by the
South African Department of Correctional Services The Department of Correctional Services is a department of the South African government. It is responsible for running South Africa's prison system. The department has about 34,000 staff and is responsible for the administration of 240 prisons, ...
. The division is specifically designed for violent and disruptive
prisoners A prisoner (also known as an inmate or detainee) is a person who is deprived of liberty against their will. This can be by confinement, captivity, or forcible restraint. The term applies particularly to serving a prison sentence in a prison. ...
who have been classified as dangerous in terms of the South African Criminal Procedure Act. Prisoners are kept in
solitary confinement Solitary confinement is a form of imprisonment in which the inmate lives in a single cell with little or no meaningful contact with other people. A prison may enforce stricter measures to control contraband on a solitary prisoner and use additi ...
for 23 hours of each day out and specialized equipment, such as electric shields, are used by the
prison guard A prison officer or corrections officer is a uniformed law enforcement official responsible for the custody, supervision, safety, and regulation of prisoners. They are responsible for the care, custody, and control of individuals who have been ...
s. It consists of two rows of fifty cells each.


Prison escape

In November 2006, Annanias Mathe became the first person to escape from C Max. Mathe, who had extensive military training gained during the
Mozambique civil war The Mozambican Civil War ( pt, Guerra Civil Moçambicana) was a civil war fought in Mozambique from 1977 to 1992. Like many regional African conflicts during the late twentieth century, the Mozambican Civil War possessed local dynamics but was a ...
, is reported to have escaped by covering his body in
Vaseline Vaseline ()Also pronounced with the main stress on the last syllable . is an American brand of petroleum jelly-based products owned by transnational company Unilever. Products include plain petroleum jelly and a selection of skin creams, soa ...
and squeezing through his tiny cell window . Mathe had been detained on more than 50 charges, including murder, rape, armed robbery and hijacking. He was recaptured two weeks after his escape following a large manhunt.


Notable inmates

* Bantu Steve Biko - anti-apartheid activist died here 1977 *
Jeremy Cronin Jeremy Patrick Cronin (born 12 September 1949) is a South African writer, author, and noted poet. A longtime activist in politics, Cronin is a member of the South African Communist Party and a former member of the National Executive Committee of ...
- writer, poet, anti-apartheid activist *
Bram Fischer Abraham Louis Fischer (23 April 1908 – 8 May 1975) was a South African Communist lawyer of Afrikaner descent, notable for anti-apartheid activism and for the legal defence of anti-apartheid figures, including Nelson Mandela, at the Rivonia T ...
- lawyer and anti-apartheid activist who died of cancer in 1975 while serving a life sentence. *
Denis Goldberg Denis Theodore Goldberg (11 April 1933 – 29 April 2020) was a South African social campaigner, who was active in the struggle against apartheid. He was accused No. 3 in the Rivonia Trial, alongside the better-known Nelson Mandela and Walter ...
- anti-apartheid campaigner and
Rivonia Trial The Rivonia Trial took place in South Africa between 9 October 1963 and 12 June 1964, and led to the imprisonment of Nelson Mandela and the others among the accused who were convicted of sabotage and sentenced to life at the Palace of Justice ...
ist. *
Mike Hoare Thomas Michael Hoare (17 March 1919 – 2 February 2020), known as Mad Mike Hoare, was a British mercenary soldier who operated during the Simba rebellion, and attempted to conduct a coup d'état in the Seychelles. Early life and military car ...
- mercenary charged with hijacking an
Air India Air India is the flag carrier airline of India, headquartered at New Delhi. It is owned by Talace Private Limited, a Special-Purpose Vehicle (SPV) of Tata Sons, after Air India Limited's former owner, the Government of India, completed the sa ...
jet in an attempt at a coup in the Seychelles. *
Tim Jenkin Timothy Peter Jenkin (born 1948) is a South African writer, former anti-apartheid activist and political prisoner. He is best known for his 1979 escape from Pretoria Local Prison (part of the Pretoria Central Prison complex), along with Steph ...
- political prisoner who escaped in 1979. *
Dave Kitson David Barry Kitson (born 21 January 1980) is an English former professional footballer who played as a forward. He made 420 appearances in the Premier League and Football League, including 135 for Reading. Kitson began his career with non-L ...
- anti-apartheid campaigner and
Little Rivonia Trial The Little Rivonia Trial was a South African apartheid-era court case in which several members of the armed resistance organization Umkhonto we Sizwe faced charges of sabotage. The accused were: Laloo Chiba, Dave Kitson, Mac Maharaj, John Matthew ...
ist. * Stephen Lee - political prisoner who escaped in 1979. *
Winnie Madikizela-Mandela Winnie Madikizela-Mandela (born Nomzamo Winifred Zanyiwe Madikizela; 26 September 1936 – 2 April 2018), also known as Winnie Mandela, was a South African anti-apartheid activist and politician, and the second wife of Nelson Mandela. She ser ...
- anti Apartheid activist. * Solomon Kalushi Mahlangu - South African freedom fighter, struggle activist and operative of the
African National Congress The African National Congress (ANC) is a Social democracy, social-democratic political party in Republic of South Africa, South Africa. A liberation movement known for its opposition to apartheid, it has governed the country since 1994, when ...
militant wing, Umkhonto we Sizwe (MK). *
Nelson Mandela Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela (; ; 18 July 1918 – 5 December 2013) was a South African Internal resistance to apartheid, anti-apartheid activist who served as the President of South Africa, first president of South Africa from 1994 to 1 ...
- held in pre-trial cells in Pretoria Local (in cells no longer standing). * John Matthews - anti-apartheid campaigner and Little Rivonia Trialist. *
Vuyisile Mini Vuyisile Mini (8 April 1920 – 6 November 1964) was a unionist, Umkhonto we Sizwe activist, singer and one of the first African National Congress members to be executed by apartheid South Africa. Early life Mini was born in 1920 in Tsomo i ...
- unionist, Umkhonto we Sizwe activist, singer and one of the first African National Congress members to be executed by apartheid South Africa. *
Alex Moumbaris Alexandre Moumbaris is a political activist and former political prisoner. He was born in Egypt to Greeks, Greek parents, grew up in Australia, lived and worked in the United Kingdom, UK, was imprisoned in South Africa and now lives in France. H ...
- political prisoner who escaped in 1979. *
Solomon Ngobeni Solomon Ngobeni (died 14 November 1989) was the last person to be executed by the government of South Africa. In October 1987, Ngobeni was found guilty and sentenced to death for fatally shooting Mackson Kubayi, a driver of a Peugeot bakkie (a S ...
- the last person to be executed by the government of South Africa. * Looksmart Ngudle – political activist. *
Butana Almond Nofomela Butana Almond Nofomela (born 1957) is a former South African security policeman. In 1989 when under sentence of death for murder, he confessed to membership of a police assassination squad that killed and terrorized opponents of apartheid. His ...
- former South African security policeman. *
Oscar Pistorius Oscar Leonard Carl Pistorius (; ; born 22 November 1986) is a South African convicted murderer and former professional sprinter. Both of his feet were amputated when he was 11 months old owing to a congenital defect; he was born missing the o ...
- sentenced to five years for
culpable homicide Culpable homicide is a categorisation of certain offences in various jurisdictions within the Commonwealth of Nations which involves the illegal killing of a person either with or without an intention to kill depending upon how a particular j ...
on 21 October 2014, he was released on 19 October 2015. After his conviction was changed to murder in December 2015, Pistorius was sentenced to six years imprisonment on 6 July 2016. He left the prison in November 2016 after being transferred to the Atteridgeville Correction Centre. *
Raymond Suttner Raymond Suttner (born ) is South African activist, academic, journalist and public figure. Education and activism Suttner was born in Durban, South Africa. He obtained BA and LLB degrees from the University of Cape Town and an inter-disciplinar ...
- academic, writer, anti-apartheid activist. * Dorethea van der Merwe - 1921, first woman to be hanged for murder; was hanged at Pretoria central.


C Max inmates

*
Clive Derby-Lewis Clive John Derby-Lewis (22 January 1936 – 3 November 2016) was a South African politician, who was involved first in the National Party and then, while serving as a member of parliament, in the Conservative Party. In 1993 he was convicted ...
- Assassin *
Eugene de Kock Eugene Alexander de Kock (born 29 January 1949) is a former South African Police colonel, torturer, and assassin, active under the apartheid government. Nicknamed "Prime Evil" by the press, De Kock was the commanding officer of C10, a counterins ...
- Commanding officer of C10, a counter-insurgency unit of the
South African Police The South African Police (SAP) was the national police force and law enforcement agency in South Africa from 1913 to 1994; it was the ''de facto'' police force in the territory of South West Africa (Namibia) from 1939 to 1981. After South Afr ...
which functioned as a
death squad A death squad is an armed group whose primary activity is carrying out extrajudicial killings or forced disappearances as part of political repression, genocide, ethnic cleansing, or revolutionary terror. Except in rare cases in which they are ...
for the apartheid government. *
Radovan Krejčíř Radovan Krejčíř (born 4 November 1968) is a Czech former organized crime boss and convicted criminal who is serving a prison term in South Africa and is being sought for extradition by the Czech government. He has been sentenced to 15.5 years i ...
- Czech former billionaire; organized crime boss * Annanias Mathe - Serial rapist and robber *
Moses Sithole Moses Sithole (born 17 November 1964) is a South African serial killer and rapist who committed the ABC Murders, so named because they began in Atteridgeville, continued in Boksburg and finished in Cleveland, a suburb of Johannesburg. Sithole ...
- Serial killer and rapist * Sipho Thwala - Serial killer and rapist *
Dimitri Tsafendas Dimitri Tsafendas ( el, Δημήτρης Τσαφέντας; 14 January 1918 – 7 October 1999) was a Greek- Mozambican lifelong political militant and the assassin of Prime Minister of South Africa Hendrik Verwoerd on 6 September 1966.
- Assassin *
Janusz Waluś Janusz Jakub Waluś ( , ; born 14 January 1953) is a Goral Polish right-wing extremist convicted of the 1993 assassination of Chris Hani, General Secretary of the South African Communist Party and chief of staff of Umkhonto we Sizwe (MK), th ...
- Assassin


References

{{Coord, 25.7612, S, 28.1816, E, source:wikidata-and-enwiki-cat-tree_region:ZA, display=title Prisons in South Africa Buildings and structures in Pretoria Capital punishment in South Africa