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The Public Servants Association (PSA) welcomes the re-arrest of an offender who escaped from Servontein Correctional Centre on 5 February 2026, whilst assigned to a cleaning team working in the facility’s farm section.
 
The offender was successfully tracked and apprehended in Gauteng on 17 March 2026. The offender is serving time for serious and violent offences, including attempted rape, attempted murder, rape, common assault, robbery, and housebreaking with intent to commit a crime. His escape posed a significant risk to public safety.
 
The PSA commends the efforts of the National Commissioner of Correctional Services, who established a dedicated track-and-tracing team in his office to focus specifically on high-profile and high-risk escapees. This initiative is a positive step towards strengthening accountability and improving the Department of Correctional Service’s response to incidents of this nature.
 
Whilst the PSA is relieved that the offender was successfully re-arrested, this escape highlights critical security shortcomings in the Department. Ensuring that inmates remain securely inside correctional facilities is one of the primary responsibilities of the Department. Any failure in this regard places communities in danger.
 
The PSA calls on the Department to conduct a thorough investigation into the circumstances that enabled the escape, strengthen internal systems, and security protocols particularly for offenders working outside secure perimeters and implement measures to prevent similar incidents in future. The safety of employees and communities must remain the Department’s utmost priority. The PSA is committed to supporting the Department in improving safety, security, and operational integrity in correctional facilities across South Africa.

Issued by the Public Servants Association