In this article, we list of maximum prisons in South Africa and little details on the facilities that house some of the worst categories of prisoners in the country.

Prisons are a necessary evil in every society. If the disease of crime is to be controlled and managed, before it spreads out of control, then there must be a place to quarantine those individuals who exhibit signs similar to the disease of crime. The correctional facilities are those places where people are put to see if they can be cured of the disease.

Maximum Security Prisons are those correctional facilities where the most dangerous hardened criminals, with symptoms associated with an advanced stage of the crimes, are kept. They are put there because they are deemed a threat to society, and could wreck further damage if they are allowed to walk around freely among the saner members of society.

List Of Maximum Prisons In South Africa

• Pretoria Central Prison

The Pretoria Central Prison has now been renamed Kgosi Mampuru II Management Area, and some people also call it the Kgosi Mampuru II Correctional Services. It is a large prison in central Pretoria, in South Africa. C Max is the name given to the Maximum Security Division of this prison. The Prison is operated by the South African Department of Correctional Services.

• Maximum Security Prison, Robben Island

Robben Island, Cape Town holds the legendary Maximum Security Prison in South Africa. The prison is famous because Nelson Mandela was incarcerated there for 18 years. The prison is actually inactive now but the place remains well maintained.

• Pollsmoor Prison

Pollsmoor Prison is one of the most dangerous prisons in South Africa, an overcrowded facility located in Tokai, which is a suburb of Cape Town, in South Africa. This prison was meant to host only 3900 inmates but now has over 8900 inmates. Pollsmoor Prison is a reflection of South African society and strong evidence that gang culture has taken over the country. It looks as if the authorities don’t know what to do with all the gangsters they find on the streets, and do they just send them to Pollsmoor Prison. The prison itself is riddled with the activities of gangs, and one analyst stated that the prison is completely run by gangs. The Prison is operated by the South African Department of Correctional Services.

• The Mangaung Prison

The Mangaung Prison ( called Mangaung-Gevangenis in Afrikaans) is a correctional facility in Bloemfontein, Free State, in South Africa. The prison can accommodate around 2,000 prisoners, but the actual figure of persons held is unspecified. The prison is managed by the company G4S as part of a consortium.

• Helderstroom Prison

Helderstroom Maximum Security Prison is a correctional facility located 120 kilometers from Cape Town in South Africa. Conditions in this prison are tough, there are many reports coming out of there of inmates committing suicide, sometimes because they find the brutality of the place too much to deal with. Phone: +27 28 215 1131

• Leeukop Prison

Leeukop Prison is a Maximum Security Prison located at 3, Cross Road, Rietfontein 2-Ir, Bryanston, 2191, South Africa. The prison is a special Maximum Security Prison where inmates who are deemed a threat not only to society but also a threat to other inmates are kept. In this prison inmates are kept in solitary confinement for 23 hours a day, and in order to move them around, guards use specialized equipment including electric shields.

• Kokstad Prison

Kokstad prison, which is also known as eBongweni C-Max Prison is considered the highest maximum correctional facility on South Africa soil. The prison is located in Kwazulu Natal. It is designed to house the most dangerous set of criminals. People that society cannot afford to have walking around freely on the streets. This facility has wardens stationed at every corner, ten electronically operated doors with CCTVs mounted on them, as well as steel doors, that one must go through before entering or exiting the facility. You would think that the place is meant for terrorists.

• Westville Prison

Westville Prison located at Dawncliffe, Westville, 3629, South Africa. The management can be reached on Phone via +27 31 204 8824. Westville Prison is one of the largest prisons in South Africa, with several wards. It is the only prison located in the Durban area.

• Grootvlei prison

Grootvlei Prison is also one of the most dangerous prisons in South Africa, situated just southwest of the city of Bloemfontein, R702, South Africa. This facility sits on an area of about 3km and houses some of the most violent and notorious gang-related criminals whom the South African law enforcement has managed to capture. On a surprise visit conducted on the facility, it was discovered without any doubt that there were dangerous items such as daggers with prisoners. Investigations have revealed that those items were smuggled in with the connivance of some corrupt elements within the correctional workers.

• Modderbee Prison

Modderbee Prison is a correctional facility located at Modderbee Road, Modderfontein 76-Ir, Benoni, 1501, South Africa. The management can be contacted via Phone: +27 11 360 8000. The prison has become quite notorious; there have been a string of riots, and also a breakout recently in which several inmates escaped, some were injured, and a few died.

• Boksburg Prison

Boksburg Prison is a prison facility located in Address: Barry Marais Rd, Boksburg, Johannesburg, 1459, South Africa. The management can be contacted via Phone: +27 11 898 3700.

• Johannesburg Prison

The Johannesburg prison, which is alternatively called the Sun City Jail is a prison facility in Sun City in Johannesburg, South Africa. The facility holds 2,631 inmates, 567 of whom are locked up for a term not less than 10 years. The prison was recently in the news when an unplanned raid was conducted on the facility revealing that many of the prisoners were armed with knives and other dangerous weapons.

• Brandvlei Correctional Centre

Brandvlei Correctional Centre (formerly Brandvlei Prison) is a prison situated in Worcester, Western Cape, South Africa, near the bank of the Brandvlei Dam near Worcester, Western Cape, South Africa. It contains a maximum-security unit. According to the Census of 2001, the prison had a population (including prisoners and resident staff) of 3,020.

• Matatshe Prison

Matatshe Prison is a prison located near the city of Thohoyandou in South Africa. It is a maximum-security prison and we can confirm that many of the inmates in this facility are held for different crimes including attempted murder, house robbery, robbery aggravating and burglary residence. The management of the prison can be contacted via Phone: +27 15 963 8500.