An inmate at the notorious Pollsmoor Prison in Cape Town has died following a violent altercation with a warder on Sunday, November 22. The inmate is believed to have suffered a head injury before dying in the prison’s hopsital.

According to reports by EWN, the inmate was a “veteran gangster” and the incident took place in the prison’s Section B2 cells while the cells were being searched. The warders reportedly found a number of weapons, as well as contraband. While the inmates were being ushered back into the cells, one prisoner attacked one of the wardens.

The warden was stabbed in the back of their head and neck, and other wardens on duty jumped in to disarm the inmate.

“This incident is gang-related because the offender who stabbed the official is a senior member of the 28s gang and this could be part of a gang ritual that was taking place,” Delekile Klaas said, Western Cape Correctional Services Commissioner, said to EWN. “Apart from the internal investigation that we will do, the Judicial Inspectorate of Correctional Services will do their own separate independent investigation, and the South African Police Service (SAPS) will also do their own separate investigation.”

Three separate investigations are currently being conducted, and according to Klaas, order was quickly restored following the incident.

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Lucinda is a hard news writer who occasionally dabbles in lifestyle writing, and recent journalism graduate. She is a proud intersectional feminist, and is passionate about actively creating a world which is free of discrimination and inequality.