Groenewald confirms foreigners with life sentences were paroled… and deported

Three foreign nationals who were serving life sentences will be sent back to their home countries after being granted parole by Correctional Services Minister Pieter Groenewald.

The Department of Correctional Services (DCS) announced on Tuesday that it has cleared the backlog of parole applications for inmates serving life sentences.

Groenewald had previously pledged to resolve the remaining 170 applications by 15 October as 385 of the total 495 applications were already finalised last month.

Parole backlog cleared by Groenewald

According to the department, the backlog was cleared “well ahead of the deadline”.

“All profiles, including the inherited backlog of 495 cases and 104 new cases, a total of 599, have been concluded by the minister as of 3 October 2024,” the statement reads.

The department reported that Groenewald approved 23 parole applications and also granted one case of day parole.

Among those granted parole are three foreign nationals who were serving life sentences: two from Mozambique and one from Zimbabwe.

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They are set to be deported back to their respective countries.

“The minister made the undertaking to the Portfolio Committee on Correctional Services to give feedback on the 15th of October.

“However, the chairperson indicated that it will form part of the agenda for the next meeting,” the department added.

SA’s parole system questioned

Last month, Parliament called for an overhaul of South Africa’s parole system, particularly medical parole.

Democratic Alliance (DA) MP Janho Engelbrecht stated on 3 September that the current parole system has historically caused reputational damage to the Department of Correctional Services due to a significant number of inmates committing serious crimes.

Engelbrecht noted that between 2019 and 2022, at least 99 000 inmates were placed on parole.

Furthermore, he highlighted that 16.25% of these individuals breached their parole conditions, and 40% went on to commit serious crimes that could have been prevented.

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An inmate is eligible for parole after serving a minimum sentence.

The minister of justice is the sole authority who can make the final decision on parole, based on recommendations from the Correctional Supervision and Parole Boards (CSPBs).

These boards assess whether granting parole to inmates is justified.

If an inmate disagrees with the parole board’s decision, they may apply for a review under Section 77(1) of the Correctional Services Act.

Parole may be revoked should the person violate their parole conditions, and they will be required to serve the remainder of their sentence.

Remission

Last year, more than 15 000 inmates were released on special remission, including former president Jacob Zuma, to address overcrowding in prisons.

According to former Justice and Correctional Services Minister Ronald Lamola, the remission process reduced overcrowding by 15%.

President Cyril Ramaphosa had signed a special remission order, which allowed supposed non-violent offenders to be released.

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