The National Commissioner of the Department of Correctional Services (DCS), Mr Makgothi Samuel Thobakgale, will on Wednesday, 21 January 2026, officially hand over a newly constructed five-room house to the Ruiters family in Kokstad, KwaZulu-Natal.
The house was built through the use of offender labour as part of the Department’s offender skills development and rehabilitation programmes. This intervention seeks to restore dignity, safety and improved living conditions to the Ruiters family, who for several decades have been residing in a single-room shack together with a 92-year-old family member.
The outreach initiative forms part of the Department’s broader rehabilitation strategy, which equips inmates with critical construction and building skills, enabling them to become productive and self-sustaining members of society upon their release. The project further advances the Department’s strategic objective of building a correctional system that prioritises rehabilitation, restorative justice and safer communities.
The handover symbolises a meaningful contribution towards community upliftment while reinforcing the Department’s commitment to rehabilitation, reintegration and social responsibility.
Members of the media are invited as follows:
Date: Wednesday, 21 January 2026
Time: 10h00 to 13h00
Venue: No. 9 Coulter Street, Ward 3, Kokstad
Enquiries:
Media liaison
Thulani Mdluli
Spokesperson
Singabakho Nxumalo
#ServiceDeliveryZA
