The Department of Correctional Services has officially taken over the management of the Mangaung Correctional Centre in Bloemfontein, Free State, after more than 20 years under private management by G4S.
The facility, which made headlines following the escape of rape and murder convict Thabo Bester in May 2022, has been renamed the Grootvlei Maximum Correctional Centre.
National Commissioner of Correctional Services Makgothi Thobakgale visited the facility just before midnight to oversee the handover and ensure the transition was completed successfully.
Thobakgale says the takeover follows the expiry of the department’s contract with Bloemfontein Correctional Contracts (BCC), which subcontracted G4S to manage the prison.
Thobakgale explains, “This is the end of the contract between the Department of Correctional Services, in other words, the government and BCC, which subcontracted G4S; it is a contract which spans around 20 years. We have now taken full control, meaning that every unit function is now under the management of the Department of Correctional Services.”
The department says the takeover process has been underway for the past two years and has now been completed following the contract’s expiry.
Correctional Services Department details Mangaung Prison takeover plan
The Grootvlei Maximum Correctional Centre is now a three-tier security facility comprising low-, medium-, and maximum-security units.
Thobakgale elaborates, “We have now taken full control, meaning that every unit function is now under the management of the Department of Correctional Services.”
The commissioner says more than 250 security officials previously employed by G4S have successfully applied for positions with the department.
A total of 535 officials were employed at the correctional centre, and Thobakgale says interviews for additional appointments are continuing.
“There are those that, when we checked, we found that they did not respond to the first advert. I am still trying to convince the human resource professionals to see if we cannot run another advert because we have a shortage of staff in the whole correctional system. It wouldn’t assist us; it is not in the interest of the system to remove officials from other correctional facilities and try to plug the need here,” Thobakgale says.
Thobakgale says the Department of Correctional Services still has a pending court matter related to the facility, although the management contract has now expired.
Meanwhile, inmates at the Grootvlei Maximum Correctional Centre will begin wearing the standard orange prison uniform, in line with other correctional facilities across the country, from 1 July.
A Historic New Chapter for Mangaung Correctional Centre
History was made at 00:01 on 1 July 2026.
The Department of Correctional Services officially assumed full management of Mangaung Correctional Centre, ending a 25-year Public-Private Partnership pic.twitter.com/K85ltewZGP
— The Department Correctional Services
(@DCS_ZA) July 1, 2026
DCS Assumes Full Management and Operational Responsibility of Mangaung Correctional Centre pic.twitter.com/xFHxVPmVhp
— The Department Correctional Services
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