The eBongweni Super Maximum prison in Kokstad. Google Earth
KOKSTAD - eBongweni Super Maximum Prison in Kokstad, KwaZulu-Natal, is feared by even the most hardened of criminals.
Built in 2002, this facility is known to hold South Africa’s most dangerous offenders.
Its long-term tenants include notorious serial rapist and armed robber Ananias Mathe, Czech organised crime boss Radovan Krejcir.
The prison operates under strict maximum-security rules, with high-tech security systems accommodating a capacity of more than 1,500 inmates.
It is deliberately kept below capacity.
Inmates are transferred here when they are considered too dangerous or too difficult to manage at other correctional centres.
Evidence from a 2023/24 Judicial Inspectorate for Correctional Services (JICS) report paints a grim picture of life inside the facility.
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Inmates are kept in single cells for up to 23 hours a day and shackled when moved.
The JICS report says conditions at the facility equal “unlawful solitary confinement”.
In 2018, convicted Nigerian terrorist Henry Okah told eNCA that the prison was “the worst” he had ever experienced.
The then KwaZulu-Natal Correctional Services Commissioner Mnikelwa Nxele previously described eBongweni as a “centre of last resort”.
The JICS hosted a Mental Health and Solitary Confinement seminar in March 2024 to explore the effects of prolonged solitary confinement.
Evidence emerged from the seminar that prolonged solitary confinement harms the mental health of both inmates and officials.
This facility will now be home convicted murderer and rapist Thabo Bester.
He joins suspected criminal mastermind Vusimuzi “Cat” Matlala, who was transferred from Kgosi Mampuru II Correctional Centre in December 2025.
The Department of Correctional Services (DCS) says inmate transfers are a routine operational practice based on security risk assessments.
DCS spokesperson Singabakho Nxumalo says the aim is to ensure the safety and stability of correctional centres, and that transfers do not affect inmates’ legal rights or access to healthcare and legal services.
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However, Matlala’s legal team disputes this.
During his first pre-trial appearance in the Johannesburg High Court on Thursday, his lawyer described conditions at eBongweni as “a nightmare”, saying they have made it difficult to prepare for trial.
He wants out of the facility.