Inmate claims to be PE gangster

Eastern Cape prison officials are investigating why an inmate who allegedly stabbed two prison warders at a Cape Town prison over the weekend is claiming that he is a top gangster from St Albans prison in Port Elizabeth.

Onke Mpalala claimed that he was transferred from St Albans prison in Port Elizabeth to the Goodwood Correctional facility in Milnerton, Cape Town.

However, officially, there is no such record of his move.

Department of Correctional Services spokesman Simphiwe Xako said the stabbing happened after Mpalala tried to bully other inmates by claiming to be a “top dog” in the 28s gang at St Albans prison.

The prison gangs in the country consist of three different groups – 26s, 27s and 28s – each with their own duties and responsibilities.

They are notorious for their violence in most of the prisons.

Xako said warders Rodrique Harmse and Elrico Fortuin were stabbed, allegedly by Mpalala, at about 8am on Sunday.

“Accounts received from other inmates revealed that an offender [Mpalala] claimed to have been transferred from St Albans in Port Elizabeth and bragged to the other offenders that he was a general of the 28s gang,” Xako said.

“He was then immediately forced to prove his claims.

“That is when he allegedly stabbed the officials who had opened the cells so that the offenders could have their breakfast.”

Harmse and Fortuin were taken to hospital and later discharged.

Shortly after the attack, Mpalala was placed in isolation and moved to the awaiting-trial section.

Police have confirmed that Mpalala’s record showed he only had Western Cape cases for shoplifting and that they had no record of him being arrested in Port Elizabeth.

Xako was also unable to clarify what Mpalala was in prison for, whether he had been in St Albans and why he was transferred to Cape Town.

Eastern Cape Correctional Services commissioner Nkosinathi Breakfast said officials were still trying to ascertain if Mpalala had ever been at St Albans.

“We are looking into this but I can say that there have been claims in the past where inmates from other prisons claim to be from St Albans as part of a scare tactic,” he said.

“There is a stigma attached to St Albans, probably due to the series of gang-related stabbings that have occurred between various prison gangs, and even our warders.”

Breakfast confirmed that Mpalala had been in and out of prison for several cases in Western Cape.