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South Africa · Western Cape · Tokai, Cape Town

Pollsmoor Maximum Security Prison

MaximumMaximummaleOvercrowded (180%)ElevatedHigh
Verified · Data dated
Aging · 5mo ago
Sources last reviewed on · data-as-of

Data is aggregated from public sources and may be incomplete or out of date. Always verify with primary sources before acting on any figure. See data sources.

For families

How to send mail, money, and visit Pollsmoor Maximum Security Prison

Step-by-step guidance using the South Africa system — addresses, money services, visit booking, what to bring on your first visit.

Open toolkit

Cape Town's main remand and sentenced-prisoner facility. Nelson Mandela was held here in the 1980s.

Background

Pollsmoor Prison, officially known as Pollsmoor Maximum Security Prison, is located in the Cape Town suburb of Tokai in South Africa. Pollsmoor is a maximum security penal facility that continues to hold some of South Africa's most dangerous criminals. Although the prison was designed with a maximum capacity of 4,336 offenders attended by a staff of 1,278, the current inmate population is over 7,000 (a figure which fluctuates daily).

Source: Wikipedia article lead, CC-BY-SA.

Capacity

4,336

Current population

7,800

Occupancy

180%

Year opened

1964

Operational

Figures from official sources · verified 28 May 2026 · methodology

Facility profile

Population held

male

Opened

1964

Region

Western Cape

Security level

Maximum

Death-row facility

No

Conditions

Severe overcrowding (often >175% of design capacity). Reports of inadequate sanitation and inmate-on-inmate violence.

Visiting

Booked via the DCS visits desk; ID required; visit lengths set by inmate's privilege grade.

Mailing

Inmate Name & DCS#, Pollsmoor Correctional Centre, Steenberg Road, Tokai 7945, South Africa.

Practical info

Visitor centre operated with NGO support.

Known issues

Constitutional Court rulings have ordered population reduction; compliance partial.

Notable inmates

  • Nelson Mandela
    Nelson Mandela
    1918–2013 · politician

    Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela ( man-DEL-ə, Xhosa: [xolíɬaɬa mandɛ̂ːla]; born Rolihlahla Mandela; 18 July 1918 – 5 December 2013) was a South African anti-apartheid activist, statesman, and revolutionary who was the first president of South Africa from 1994 to 1999.

Source: Wikidata + Wikipedia.

Contact & address

Steenberg Road, Tokai, Cape Town 7945
+27 21 700 1900
Official site

Conditions Risk Score

Derived signal — not a judgement. How it's calculated

37/100
Elevated concern37/100
Overcrowding
22/30
Oversight reports
12/30
Structural flags
0/15
Death signals
0/15
Conditions text
3/10

What the score is responding to:

  • · Severely overcrowded at 180% of capacity
  • · 2 oversight reports in the last 5 years
  • · Severe-conditions keyword in sources

This facility scores 37. The national average across 567 scored South Africa facilities is 31 — 6 points above national average.

Trend over time

Population and occupancy by year. Source: official corrections statistics + oversight reports.

Population held

2018: 7,200+8.3%2024: 7,800

Occupancy %

2018: 166.0%+8.4%2024: 180.0%

Related facilities

All in South Africa →

Same country, matched on type + security level where possible.

Reports

  • PMG-AGSA20 Aug 2024

    PMG DCS committee meeting (2024-08-20): AGSA audit findings mentioned in relation to Pollsmoor Correctional Centre. Snippet: Minister Ntshalintshali told a positive story about two children who had been raised by a mother in Pollsmoor prison and went on to become a lawyer and a pilot. This story had been celebrated during the Women's Month celebrations. She credited the Department’

    source

  • Judicial Inspectorate for Correctional Services10 Dec 2023

    Pollsmoor running at 184% of design capacity; remand population is the principal driver.

    source

Data completeness

100%

How many of our profile fields are populated. We surface this so families and researchers know the limits.

Sources

Cite this page

Under CC-BY-4.0. Include the URL and access date; the site is a living reference and entries can change.

APA
World Prisons. (2026). Pollsmoor Maximum Security Prison. Retrieved October 19, 2026, from https://worldprisons.com/prisons/pollsmoor
Chicago
"Pollsmoor Maximum Security Prison." World Prisons. Accessed October 19, 2026. https://worldprisons.com/prisons/pollsmoor.
BibTeX
@misc{worldprisons-pollsmoor,
  author = {{World Prisons}},
  title = {Pollsmoor Maximum Security Prison},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://worldprisons.com/prisons/pollsmoor},
  urldate = {2026-10-19}
}