The corrections department has fired 10 prison officials for gross misconduct including corruption, gross negligence and smuggling contraband into prisons.
The Department of Corrections director-general revealed that a departmental oversight committee reviewed the misconduct of 10 prison officials and recommended their removal from their posts.
The names of the prison officials were not given by the corrections department.
The oversight committee ordered the sacking of two prison guards who were collecting money from inmates’ relatives in exchange for favours.
They also helped smuggle goods into the prison.
Three other prison officials were also sacked.
Two were caught smuggling tobacco into the prisons and conspiring to sell overpriced products to inmates. Another was punished for gross misconduct in relation to the murder of four family members.
Furthermore, the oversight committee decided to dismiss another four guards who were tasked with monitoring people entering and exiting the prison.
Their gross negligence resulted in inmates escaping while disguised as prison staff.
One officer was also found guilty of illegally providing an inmate with a cellular phone.
The corrections department stressed that its officers must act with honesty and strictly adhere to the regulations.
The department also ordered prison wardens to stop their negligence in the face of corruption and gross misconduct.
Any guards found to have committed any illegal acts will be punished with the utmost severity, the report said. – CTN News
