Pretoria - National Police Commissioner Riah Phiyega has congratulated and thanked all police units involved in the successful and peaceful resolution of the hostage situation at the Mangaung Correctional Detention Centre.
On Wednesday, a female employee of the prison in the Free State was taken hostage by four male inmates at approximately 9am. The hostage-takers are serving time for rape, murder and robbery.
According to spokesperson, Lieutenant General Solomon Makgale, during the course of the next 13 hours members of visible policing, the tactical response team, public order policing, the air wing, the special task force, the detective service and SAPS hostage negotiators worked in a coordinated manner in order to resolve the standoff between the hostage-takers and authorities peacefully.
He said all security operations were coordinated from the National Joint Operational Centre (NATJOC) in Pretoria.
Various SAPS units and other departments, specifically the Department of Correctional Services, were represented at the NATJOC.
“Ultimately, at 10:16pm last night, a tactical assault on the area where the hostage-takers had barricaded themselves was conducted by members of the elite Special Task Force (STF).
“As is their usual practice and in accordance with their specialised training, the STF used minimum force to rescue the hostage and arrest the perpetrators. Not a single shot was fired and the hostage did not sustain any injuries during the rescue operation,” said Makgale.
National Police Commissioner General Riah Phiyega said that if one looked at the profile of the prisoners who took the woman hostage, “one has to convey a special word of thanks to our dedicated members for ensuring that this situation was ended without bloodshed”. – SAnews.gov.za
