The regional spokesperson for the department, Puleng Mokhoane, says offenders from correctional centre book clubs across the country participated in this competition and the local inmates attained the first position and scooped up 34 trophies in all competitions, which included debating and Spelling B.

She adds that as a token of their appreciation, the department will today have a congratulatory lunch for the offenders in the Tswelopele Correctional Centre, Kimberley.

The Free State and Northern Cape received trophies for Afrikaans, Sesotho and Setswana languages. Mokhoane adds that five book clubs represented the NC region, namely the Cheetahs, Gemsbok, Literati, Ipeleng and Inkwenkwezi.

"The championship consisted of four categories, namely the Book Review, Book Reading, Debating, and Spelling B in all eleven official languages." The competition included offenders from all nine provinces, some universities and schools around George," she further adds.

This comes a few days after a report, indicating that the country’s prisons are 37% overcrowded, with 162 875 prisoners against an accommodation capacity of 118 572 beds. The Department of Correctional Services has confirmed these numbers.

News24 earlier reported that the Judicial Inspectorate for Correctional Services (JICS) said the correctional centres were generally 150% occupied and that overcrowding at prisons across the country means that those awaiting trial or the finalisation of legal proceedings sometimes end up without a bed, bedding or even a uniform.

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