- Popcru has expressed its disappointment following the posting of a fake video showing three prisoners assaulting a warder.
- According to the Department of Correctional Services, the video was orchestrated and "nothing close to reality".
- The department said it has identified the person behind the videos and was engaging with the police.
The Police and Prisons Civil Rights Union (Popcru) has expressed its disappointment after a fake video depicting three inmates assaulting a prison warder went viral on social media.
The union said it was disappointed over the "orchestrated" video showing three people dressed in orange overalls assaulting someone in a correctional services officer's uniform, while in another video a prisoner is seen carrying a knife and a gun.
Department of Correctional Services (DSC) spokesperson Singabakho Nxumalo said they are aware of the videos doing the rounds on social media.
"DCS can categorically state that this is all an act and nothing close to reality," he said.
The department said it never granted permission for the production of the videos and would embark on legal processes to deal with those behind it.
Popcru spokesperson Richard Mamabolo said the union was disappointed about such acts because many correctional services officials had been assaulted, and some had even lost their lives.
Majority
"This is but the lived realities of a majority of officers," Mamabolo said.
"We have been pursuing the need to relook corrections in the country as inmates cannot lie idle, but should be playing a role that ensures they improve themselves through correctional centres, being self-sustainable (sic)," he added.
Nxumalo said processes were in place for creative artists to approach the Department of Correctional Services for the use of their uniform or property.
"These requests are processed internally and can only be approved by the national commissioner, and such work must be in the interests of justice and the rehabilitation of inmates," he added.
Nxumalo said the department has identified the person behind the video.
He added that the department was in talks with the police so that the law can take its course.