Officials in trouble after strippers entertain prisoners

Managers and lower ranking officials are amongst 13 people facing possible suspension as the Correctional Services department was on Monday left red-faced by images that surfaced on social media showing scantily clad women in lingerie entertaining prisoners.

"The intention was never to have strippers in the facility‚" Acting National Correctional Services Commissioner James Smalberger told a news briefing.

"That is unacceptable and we cannot tolerate that at all.

"I want to give assurance that‚ based on our briefing and our visit to the place where this happened‚ is that there is no taxpayer money involved in this ‘entertainment’‚" he said.

The department took the matter seriously after the images surfaced at the weekend and immediately opened an investigation into the circumstances.

"Thirteen of our officials will be contemplated for suspension" if they were found to have flouted departmental rules‚ he said.

"We will hear on Friday what the status of the investigation is."

Gauteng correctional services spokesman Ofentse Morwane earlier told TimesLIVE that dancers were brought to Johannesburg Medium-B prison to “rehabilitate” inmates last Wednesday as part of Youth Month celebrations. But to the surprise of prison authorities‚ and the delight of inmates‚ the women arrived wearing outfits that left little to the imagination.

“At Johannesburg Prison there was an internal event organised for inmates to celebrate Youth Month‚” said Morwane.

“When the dancers arrived‚ we saw that they were wearing lingerie. They had some sort of strip show for the offenders.”

- TMG Digital