Chaos at KZN prison: One inmate dead

An inmate has died after riots broke out at Umzinto Prison in KwaZulu-Natal’s South Coast on Monday afternoon.

Videos showing a section of the prison on fire and inmates scrambling onto the building rooftop have surfaced on social media.

Correctional Services spokesperson Singabakho Nxumalo said that the inmate died after falling to his death while trying to escape.

Nxumalo added that no one escaped during the incident and that the fire had been contained. Department of Correctional Services offices and SAPS remain at the scene on standby in case of any flare-ups.

“We condemn in the strongest possible terms any attempts by inmates to undermine security at the Centre,” said Nxumalo.

“We will not hesitate to take strong action against those behind such acts.”

Editor’s Note: It was initially understood that Umzinto prisoners had joined the national ‘Free Jacob Zuma’ movement which has seen large scale violent looting and riots sweeping across the country. This could not, however, be confirmed and the department has denied that the incident is related to the protests. The story and headline have been updated accordingly.