11/09/2026
POPCRU Denies Members Involved in Rooigrond Escape, Blames Infrastructure Failures
The Police and Prisons Civil Rights Union (POPCRU) in North West has rejected claims that its members assisted an inmate in escaping from Rooigrond Correctional Centre, instead pointing to broken infrastructure as the real cause of the security breach.
Johannes Dire, Provincial Secretary of POPCRU North West, said the escape was not the result of an inside job but of non-functional lights and the absence of CCTV cameras at the facility.
"The lights were not working and there were no CCTVs in place. That is the real problem not our members," Dire said.
He also dismissed statements by the Commissioner suggesting that staff had been involved, calling the claim "his imagination."
"Nobody implanted the tools to help the inmate escape. What the Commissioner said about an inside job is his imagination," Dire added.
The union has called for urgent attention to the facility's failing infrastructure, warning that poor maintenance puts both staff and the public at risk.
