Here’s how South Africa’s prisons are bursting at the seams

2026-03-16 - 12:13

With 168 672 inmates crammed into facilities built for just over 107 000, South Africa’s correctional system is operating at 58% over capacity. Parliamentary data reveals a system in collapse, with the Eastern Cape, Western Cape, and Gauteng among the hardest hit. South Africa’s prison system is severely overcrowded, with the national inmate population at 168 672 against an approved accommodation capacity of only 107 067, resulting in a national overcrowding rate of 58%. The figures, tabled by the Minister of Correctional Services, Pieter Groenewald, in a written parliamentary reply to an EFF question, are drawn from daily unlock totals recorded on 26 February 2026. The question was posed by EFF MP Mandla Shikwambana, who asked Groenewald to account for current inmate populations, accommodation capacity, overcrowding percentages by province, which facilities were operating above their approved capacity, how far each had exceeded those limits, which five centres were the most overcrowded nationally, and how many inmates, nationally and per province, were remand detainees. A system stretched beyond its limits across every region Not a single region in the country is operating within its approved capacity. The Eastern Cape is the most severely overcrowded at 83%, housing 22 354 inmates in facilities designed for 12 205. The Western Cape follows closely with a 71% overcrowding rate, 30 603 inmates in space approved for 17 912. Meanwhile, Gauteng stands at 70%, with 39,774 inmates in facilities approved for 23 460. KwaZulu-Natal holds 26 732 inmates against a capacity of 17 458, reflecting a 53% overcrowding rate, while the Limpopo, Mpumalanga and North West region is at 48%, with 26 345 inmates housed in space for 17 813. The Free State and Northern Cape region, while still well over capacity, registers the lowest overcrowding rate at 25%, with 22 864 inmates against an approved capacity of 18 219. ALSO READ: Additional prison years for man who broke into Bloemfontein NPA offices 205 out of 243 facilities are over capacity The scale of the crisis becomes even starker when one considers that 205 of the country’s 243 correctional facilities are currently operating above their approved bed capacity. In the Eastern Cape, 44 of 45 facilities are over capacity. The Western Cape has 40 of its 44 facilities beyond the limit, while KwaZulu-Natal has 34 of 42, and the Limpopo, Mpumalanga and North West regions have 32 of 38. Gauteng has 20 of 26 facilities over capacity, and the Free State and Northern Cape region 35 of 48. The five most overcrowded centres in SA The five correctional centres with the highest occupancy rates nationally were identified as at 26 February 2026. At the top is the Bizana Remand Detention Facility in the Eastern Cape, which is operating at a staggering 411% of its approved capacity, housing 189 inmates in a facility built for 46. The Worcester Male Correctional Centre in the Western Cape is second, accommodating 1,459 inmates in space approved for 405, translating to 360% occupancy. Polokwane Correctional Centre in the Limpopo, Mpumalanga and North West region holds 1 783 inmates against an approved capacity of 504, an occupancy rate of 354%. Robertson Correctional Centre in the Western Cape sits at 344%, with 663 inmates against a capacity of 193, and Allandale Correctional Centre, also in the Western Cape, holds 989 inmates in a facility built for 289, recording a 342% occupancy rate. The concentration of three of the five most overcrowded facilities in the Western Cape underscores just how acute the crisis is in that region. Within regions: the worst offenders The extent of overcrowding varies dramatically even within regions. In Gauteng, the Krugersdorp Correctional Centre is at 263% capacity with 3 412 inmates in space for 1 296, while the Johannesburg Remand Detention Facility holds 6 448 inmates, nearly three times its approved bedspace of 2 468, at 261% occupancy. KwaZulu-Natal’s most strained facility is the Durban Maximum Correctional Centre, which houses 4 394 inmates in space approved for 1 570, an occupancy rate of 280%. The Durban Female Correctional Centre is at 251%, accommodating 537 women in a facility designed for 214. In the Free State and Northern Cape region, Grootvlei Maximum Correctional Centre tops the list at 273% occupancy, with 2 204 inmates in space for 806. In the Limpopo, Mpumalanga, and North West regions, Polokwane Correctional Centre’s 354% occupancy is the highest, followed by Makhado Correctional Centre at 298%, which holds 909 inmates in space for 305. In the Western Cape, overcrowding permeates the entire system. Worcester Male Correctional Centre leads at 360%, with Robertson at 344% and Allandale at 342%. Pollsmoor Remand Detention Facility A holds 3 166 inmates in space approved for 1 028, an occupancy rate of 308%, while the Pollsmoor Female Correctional Centre accommodates 723 women in a facility built for 245, at 295% capacity. Remand detainees: the unsentenced burden on the system A significant and troubling portion of the national inmate population are remand detainees. These are individuals who have not yet been convicted of any crime but are held in custody awaiting trial. Nationally, 62 687 of the 168 672 inmates are remand detainees, with 105 985 being sentenced offenders. Gauteng carries the heaviest burden of unsentenced inmates, with 17 642 remand detainees out of a total population of 39 774. The Western Cape has 14 481 remand detainees among its 30 603 inmates, the second highest nationally and a proportion that reflects the enormous pressure on facilities like Pollsmoor and Goodwood, both of which operate dedicated remand detention facilities well above capacity. KwaZulu-Natal holds 8 021 remand detainees, the Eastern Cape 7 964, and the Limpopo, Mpumalanga and North West regions 7 587. The Free State and Northern Cape region has 6 992 remand detainees out of a total of 22 864 inmates. The high number of remand detainees nationally, nearly 37% of the total prison population, points directly to systemic delays in the criminal justice system. Backlogs in court proceedings mean that thousands of unconvicted individuals are being held in conditions that are already struggling to accommodate those who have been sentenced, deepening the crisis and raising serious questions about the state’s constitutional obligations to those in its care. READ NEXT: Former law firm employee jailed for seven years over R13m fraud