Johannesburg – The uMkhonto weSizwe Party (MK Party) has questioned the motives of the Department of Correctional Services (DCS) after it announced a probe into an eNCA interview with an inmate.
In a statement on Monday, 30 March 2026, the MK Party said it noted: “with concern the DCS’s response to the recent media interview conducted by eNCA with inmate Jermaine Prim”.
In the telephonic interview, Prim made allegations that Sport, Arts, and Culture Minister Gayton McKenzie was involved in drug dealing.
However, McKenzie, who is also the leader of the Patriotic Alliance (PA) party, has denied the allegations.
RELATED: Minister McKenzie Rejects, As False, Accusations Of Drug Dealing Made By Inmate – The Bulrushes
The DCS announced soon after the reports on the matter surfaced that it was probing how an inmate had participated in the interview from prison and whether any rules were breached.
Reacting to the move,the MK Party said: “The department’s sudden alarm over what it terms an ‘irregular interview’ raises serious concerns about its motives, particularly as the information shared in the pre-recorded interview with Mr. Prim, conducted by eNCA’s journalist Heidi Giokos, was already in the public domain”.
The MK Party stated that the information was previously shared through a sworn affidavit submitted to the Ad-Hoc Committee and a letter to KwaZulu-Natal Police Commissioner Lieutenant General Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi.
“It is obvious that the department’s response is less about procedural breaches and more about managing public perception amid revelations of its systemic failures,” the MK Party said.
“Mr. Prim’s claims of accessing cell phones while incarcerated, facilitated by Minister Gayton McKenzie, reflect longstanding and widely acknowledged issues of contraband smuggling within correctional facilities.
“These are problems that the DCS has historically failed to address with similar urgency, therefore raising doubts about whether its current stance is aimed at accountability or at containing reputational damage and shielding politically connected individuals.”
The MK Party stated that it had been informed that, following the broadcast of the interview, Inmate Prim seemed to have been unlawfully transferred to C-Max, “in what appears to be an attempt to silence him”.
The MK Party added: “It has also come to our attention that he has been subjected to torture through electrocution by the Head of Prison at the Kgosi Mampuru Correctional Center, Mr. Ntsizi Qebengu, and has been beaten and deprived of food for the past three days.
“These constitute grave human rights violations requiring immediate intervention.”
The MK Party challenged the DCS explanation that a “tool” was used to justify Prim’s placement in C-Max, saying it has failed to provide any explanation regarding the nature or criteria of this instrument.
“The DCS must explain, through a public disclosure, the application of the abovementioned ‘tool’, as well it’s inconsistent approach to investigations and its newfound urgency in pursuing a ‘full-scale investigation,’ despite years of documented concerns about the porous nature of South Africa’s correctional system,” said the MK Party in its lengthy statement.
“The MK Party condemns the use of state institutions as protective barriers for individuals implicated in serious allegations.
“It should be noted that Minister Gayton McKenzie previously leaked information regarding fraud at Grootvlei Prison to the media program ‘Special Assignment’.
“Yet today, he appears to take a contradictory stance, criticizing similar disclosures when an inmate reveals information about him via a Johannesburg prison landline.”
The MK Party has also called on President Cyril Ramaphosa to suspend Minister Gayton McKenzie, to allow for fair investigations.
In addition, the party demanded that the Madlanga Commission investigate the allegations and ensure that all those fingered in this exposé be subpoenaed, including inmate Jermaine Prim.
The MK Party demanded that Minister McKenzie “account fully before Parliament for his involvement in these allegations”.
