parole Archives - Voice of the Cape

Crime coalition says parole board should be revised

The Minister of Correctional Services in South Africa has admitted that a number of parolees in the country have reoffended, with alleged crimes ranging from violent acts and housebreaking to absconding. The minister has also acknowledged that reintegrating parolees into society has certain difficulties, including limited possibilities and social stigmatization. Speaking on VOC Breakfast, Llewellyn Macmaster, Chair of the Cape Crime Crisis Coalition, said that swift change is necessary to […]

18 April 2025

Local

Najwa Dirk Admits Role in Taliep Petersen’s Murder

By Rachel Mohamed Najwa Dirk, who was found guilty of her role in the death of her former husband Taliep Petersen, is being considered for parole after eighteen years behind bars with the Petersen family forgiving her to set themselves free. This comes after the extended program of the Victim Offender Dialogue (VOD), which formed part of the parole proceedings at Pollsmoor prison this week. Dirk admitted to […]

5 September 2024

Local

Correctional Services reviews parole of ex-cop van der Westhuizen

Correctional Services is reviewing the parole of former Cape Town top cop Marius van der Westhuizen, who was jailed for shooting his children in 2006. They were 21 months, five years and 16 years old. Van der Westhuizen was due for release next week after serving 13 years of his 24-year sentence. The department granted him parole last month despite his former wife Charlotte’s objections that she fears for her […]

28 July 2024

Local

Steenkamp family ‘accepts’ parole of Oscar Pistorius, says family spokesperson

World-renowned Paralympian Oscar Pistorius was released on parole on Friday after serving just under a decade behind bars for the murder of his model girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp in 2013. “The Department of Correctional Services [DCS] is able to confirm that Oscar Pistorius is a parolee, effectively from 5 January 2024. He was admitted into the system of Community Corrections and is now at home,” stated the DCS in a statement […]

10 January 2024

Local

101 of 16,472 inmates released on special remission programme re-arrested

At least 101 of the more than 16,000 inmates released last year as part of a special remission programme are in trouble with the law again. The programme was designed to relieve overcrowding in prisons across the country. But Justice Minister Ronald Lamola has revealed to Parliament that some of those released did not even manage to steer clear of the law for a week before being re-arrested. By the […]

6 January 2024

Local

Pistorius family, lawyer insist he is eligible for parole

The family and attorney of jailed Paralympic athlete Oscar Pistorius insist that is he is eligible for parole. The family and Julian Knight are arguing that the Correctional Services Department and the parole board have their dates wrong. However, the department says Pistorius has not yet served his minimum sentence in accordance with a ruling of the Supreme Court of Appeal in Bloemfontein in November 2017. Under South African law, […]

19 August 2023

Local

SCA made clear the conditions of medical parole: Expert

Parole expert Julian Knight says the Supreme Court of Appeal (SCA) has made clear the conditions under which a prisoner should be released on medical parole. On Monday, the SCA upheld a High Court order which declared former President Jacob Zuma’s release on medical parole irrational, unlawful and unconstitutional. The SCA also ruled that Zuma must return to the Estcourt Correctional Centre because he did not lawfully complete his sentence. Knight […]

22 November 2022

Local

COCT concerned over a lack of prosecutions

LOCAL The City of Cape Town's Safety and Security Directorate's JP Smith has called for an enquiry into the status of hundreds of drug arrest cases made by officials over the past few months. It comes after the Public Prosecutor reportedly released a suspect arrested for possession of mandrax and tik, because the case was "trivial and stood no reasonable chance of prosecution". A parolee busted with drugs in […]

16 November 2022

Local

Oscar Pistorius’ hopes of spending the festive season at home dashed

Former Paralympian gold medallist Oscar Pistorius is set to spend another festive season in jail. He will only be eligible for parole in March next year. The hopes of Pistorius to spend the festive season at home have been dashed after the Supreme Court of Appeal said he was not yet eligible for parole. Pistorius is serving a 13-year sentence for killing his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp on Valentine’s Day in 2013. He shot dead […]

3 November 2022

parole

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