Mangaung prison staff fume over ‘crass’ strip searches

Workers at the Mangaung Correctional Centre (MCC) in Bloemfontein are allegedly compelled to strip naked in front of their colleagues, including those of the opposite gender as part of a search procedure to prevent contraband smuggling.

Sowetan spoke to workers at the Free State maximum security facility, which is run by G4S SA on behalf of the department of correctional services, who detailed the humiliation they had to endure over the past two weeks.

They said there were about 78 black and coloured guards at the facility. 

One of the workers told Sowetan that the “strip search” was used in the past when a worker was suspected of having brought an illegal item into the facility.

But this time, they do not know why it was being done and claim black and coloured prison wardens are targeted.

“All of us as black people we queue outside as the search takes long. They put you into this room where you are forced to undress in front of your colleagues. You are then asked to squat for them to ensure that nothing is hidden in your private parts. They then take your stuff and put it in a scanner.

“They also open our lunch boxes and use a plastic glove to put their hand inside our food as part of the search. It is the most humiliating thing that a human being can experience,” said one of the workers.

A female worker said the supervisors did not even care if one was on her period.

“We are asked to take off our clothes. It is a humiliating 15-20 minutes. I have had to take off my clothes in front of  males who are observing in the room.

"Even when I tell them that I am on my period, they do not care. You have to take off even the pad. It is the most humiliating thing a woman can ever go through. There are cameras in that room, which means there are other people watching this elsewhere. Imagine that kind of violation,” she said.

Another worker said: “We’ve complained to management about the search but they insisted that it is a requirement for the kind of work we are doing.”

G4S SA confirmed that it conducts searches.

“G4S operates the MCC in compliance with the law and department of correctional services protocols, which prescribe that all people entering a correctional centre are subject to searching.

"This includes G4S employees working at the facility. Search procedures ensure the safety of both employees and inmates.  

“We treat our employees with dignity and respect. In order to make improvements or address concerns, G4S has numerous structured employee engagement forums, both with individual workers and through employee representative working groups, as well as an open door policy with the HR director,” the company said in its official response to questions sent on Thursday.

Workers told Sowetan that G4S SA called a meeting on Friday where they were reminded that they are not allowed to talk about what happens in the prison to outsiders.

Correctional services spokesperson Singabakho Nxumalo said: "These issues must be addressed with the responsible company being G4S. It is unfair for DCS to be made to answer on allegations levelled against another company.”

dlaminip@sowetan.co.za