A video showing disbarred advocate Malesela Teffo dancing with fellow inmates inside Kgosi Mampuru II Correctional Facility in Pretoria has prompted an urgent security operation, with the Department of Correctional Services uncovering cellphones, drugs, a laptop and other prohibited items during a search.
Following the circulation of the footage, Correctional Services National Commissioner Makgothi Samuel Thobakgale instructed prison management to conduct an immediate search of the unit where the inmates featured in the video were accommodated.
Department spokesperson Singabakho Nxumalo confirmed that officials recovered five cellphones, three routers, a laptop, two bank cards, 11 chargers, three USB devices, 16 packets of illicit cigarettes, five balls of dagga, 194 Mandrax tablets, two hacksaw blades and various sharp objects.
Nxumalo said the department viewed the discoveries as serious security breaches and that inmates identified in the video, as well as those found in possession of prohibited items, would face internal disciplinary proceedings.
Their conduct would also be considered when assessing their inmate profiles, potentially affecting their correctional placement and privileges.
“The department will leave no stone unturned in establishing the full circumstances surrounding this incident,” Nxumalo said.
He added that an investigation would establish how the electronic device used to record the video, together with other prohibited items, entered the facility. Any possible involvement or negligence by correctional officials would also be investigated, with appropriate action taken where wrongdoing was established.
Commissioner Thobakgale reiterated that correctional facilities were not places where offenders could disregard established rules and security protocols with impunity.
“Maintaining discipline across all correctional facilities remains cardinal,” he said, adding that neither inmates nor officials would be allowed to undermine the integrity of the correctional system.
Teffo’s presence behind bars follows his arrest on 15 September 2026 at the Legal Practice Council’s offices in Gauteng. Police executed a warrant linked to contempt of court after the former advocate continued attempting to engage in legal proceedings despite having been struck off the roll of legal practitioners in September 2022.
The Legal Practice Council had maintained that Teffo had not been readmitted to practise law. His legal troubles attracted renewed attention after he made an unexpected appearance at the Johannesburg High Court during proceedings involving alleged underworld figure Vusimuzi ‘Cat’ Matlala, attempting to address the court despite not having the required standing.
Teffo previously represented four of the accused in the Senzo Meyiwa murder trial before withdrawing from the case in July 2022.
