The Democratic Alliance (DA) has noted with deep concern the escape of convicted rapist, Jakob September, from Helderstroom Maximum Correctional Centre in Caledon on Saturday 8 October. September, originally from Riversdale, was serving a 28-year sentence for violent sexual offences.

The DA demands that both the Western Cape Provincial Police Commissioner and the Minister of Correctional Services urgently appear before Parliament, said Nicholas Gotsell, DA NCOP Member on Security & Justice.

This incident comes on the back of the recent escapes at Wynberg and Strand Police holding cells. Those escapes occurred while detainees were in SAPS custody, whilst this escape happened inside a maximum-security correctional facility – the place where security is supposed to be at its strongest, he said.

Helderstroom is intended to house some of the most dangerous offenders in the country and it is tasked not only with detention, but with rehabilitation and the protection of the public. A breach at this level indicates a failure at the very heart of the Department of Correctional Services’ security and operational controls, according to the DA.

“When a prisoner serving a sentence for a serious crime walks out of a maximum-security facility, the public is justified in asking whether Correctional Services is capable of performing its constitutional mandate. The escape from a maximum security facility by a single inmate, points to a criminal justice chain that is failing at every stage; from arrest to court process to incarceration,” Gotsell said.

Last week, following the escapes from SAPS holding cells, the DA wrote to the Chairperson of the Select Committee on Security and Justice requesting the urgent appearance of both the Western Cape Provincial Police Commissioner and the Minister of Correctional Services to account for the repeated and escalating breakdowns occurring in both policing and correctional security environments. The DA has again written to the Chairperson to bring the latest incident to her attention and to request that the requested meeting be prioritised. Urgent and crucial interrogation is required.

Minister Pieter Groenewald must explain:

• How this escape was possible from inside a maximum security facility;

• Whether internal collusion is suspected or being investigated; and

• What immediate steps are being taken to prevent further breaches?

At a time when communities in the Western Cape are experiencing a surge of crime due to criminal justice failures, the State cannot allow violent, unrehabilitated offenders to return to the very communities they harmed, Gotsell concluded.