A forbidding fortress lies on the outskirts of Bryanston, Johannesburg. Rows of green roofs are surrounded by concrete walls and razor wire, and armed guards patrol the enormous complex around the clock.

This is where more than 32 000 prisoners, among them some of SA’s most dangerous criminals, are kept behind lock and key to pay for their deeds.

It’s overcrowded, prison gangs conduct a reign of terror, and last year an inmate murdered a female guard. Welcome to Leeuwkop, one of the country’s most notorious maximum-­security prisons and a place where no one would choose to be. 

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