Court rejects Ralph Stanfield's claims over solitary confinement treatment
Alleged gang boss Ralph Stanfield.
Image: File
The Western Cape High Court has dismissed an urgent application brought by alleged gang 28s gang boss Ralph Stanfield, who challenged his transfer from Pollsmoor to Brandvlei prisons, and subsequently to Helderstroom Correctional Centre, claiming his constitutional rights were infringed while being kept in solitary confinement for 23 hours a day while he suffered psychological stress.
Authorities in the Department of Correctional Services in turn said Stanfield had associations with the Firm gang and links to organised crime, and was involved in a high-profile case.
They were also concerned that he may have connections within Pollsmoor Prison and the trial against alleged underworld figure Nafiz Modack was still running.
They denied he was placed in solitary confinement and said he faced disciplinary action after a cellphone was found inside his cell.
According to court papers, Stanfield brought the application in April against the Minister of Correctional Services, Regional Correctional Services, Head of Centre Brandvlei, Helderstroom and Pollsmoor Prison.
Stanfield alleged his detention amounted to unlawful solitary confinement and violated his constitutional rights to procedural fairness and legal consultation.
While coming to a verdict, the judge said Stanfield’s rights had not been violated while being transferred between facilities.
“The respondents have provided legitimate and justifiable reasons for the applicant’s transfer or movement from Pollsmoor to Brandvlei and Helderstroom. We conclude, therefore, that the applicant’s transfer is entirely lawful and justifiable."
The court ordered that each party pay its own costs.
According to Stanfield’s argument, he was taken to Brandvlei Prison after the Anti-Gang Unit transferred him from Pollsmoor.
He said he had been told by a correctional official that he would be detained in a single cell but he was kept in solitary confinement.
“The applicant stated that he was not given any formal notice or reasons for his transfer to Brandvlei before or upon his arrival, nor was he given an opportunity to make representations or be heard before the decision to transfer him was made. The applicant asserted that in Brandvlei, he was kept in solitary confinement,” the court papers read.
“After several days in solitary confinement, a correctional services official told him that this measure was taken to ensure his safety.
“To this end, the applicant points out that the decision to transfer him on both occasions was procedurally unfair. According to the applicant, he never received written reasons for either transfer.
Alleged 28s gang boss, Ralph Stanfield.
Image: File
"Despite months of enquiring about his transfer and subsequent solitary detention at Brandvlei, he was never provided with any reasons for his transfer. Furthermore, he never received any written rules or a court order confirming the legality of his detention at Brandvlei and its harsh conditions. In his opinion, in the absence of any further information, the implication is that the decision was taken for no reason, arbitrarily and capriciously.”
Stanfield also denied that his life was threatened at Pollsmoor to warrant being "shackled up" in solitary confinement at Helderstroom prison.
“The applicant further avers that, from October 2, 2023, before he was transferred to Helderstroom on August 22, 2025, he was confined to a single cell for 22 hours a day. While in this cell, he was not treated any differently from sentenced prisoners.
“He was exposed to sentenced prisoners and consequently made to interact with them daily, including queuing for showers and exercising with persons convicted of all sorts of violent crimes.
“According to him, he was allowed to leave his cell for no more than one hour a day, which effectively meant that he was in solitary confinement for 23 hours a day without any meaningful human contact.
"This persisted for more than 40 consecutive days without any reason or formal process established by the prison officials for him to challenge the status quo.”
Stanfield further said he faced severe psychological distress to the extent that he recently required to see a psychologist or social worker to address and formally document his mental wellbeing urgently.
“Simply put, the applicant contends that by transferring and detaining him in solitary confinement in both correctional centres due to a ‘spectral’ threat to his safety, of which he has been provided no details, where he suffers significant deprivation of his liberty, is unreasonable,” the court papers stated.
In July 2025, Stanfield made an application to be transferred back to Pollsmoor Prison due to the
"harsh conditions" at Brandvlei Prison and claimed that his requests had been ignored.
In response to his request, all respondents said Stanfield was a high-risk detainee who was involved in a high-profile case who had alleged affiliations with gangs and organised crime.
“The respondents went on to explain that the applicant was assessed to be a high-risk and high-profile remand detainee because of his affiliation with gangsterism and organised crime,” the court papers state.
“It is the respondents’ contention that the applicant is closely associated with the gang known as the Firm, where he is known to hold a senior leadership position.
"He is also associated with the prison gang, the 28s, who have a significant presence at Pollsmoor.
"When he was moved to Brandvlei, it was explained to him why it was necessary that he be relocated immediately, which transfer was done the same night when he arrived at Pollsmoor and that it was for his own protection.
“The respondents stated that the applicant did not object to his transfer and accepted the reason for his immediate transfer. He also did not protest or ask for access to his attorney to object to or challenge the transfer.
“Given that he would hold a high level of influence at Pollsmoor among gang members, he could not be detained at Pollsmoor and was placed at Brandvlei for his own safety, given that the members of a rival gang, Nafez Modack and some of his associates, whose trial for serious offences is currently being heard in the Western Cape High Court, were detained in Pollsmoor at the time of the applicant’s arrest.
"Most of them are still detained at Pollsmoor while their trial is ongoing.
"The respondents believe that it would have been irresponsible for the department to detain the applicant at Pollsmoor, knowing the risk to his life and safety.”
They also explained that Stanfield’s move was necessary because order needed to be maintained within the walls of Pollsmoor.
“The applicant's influence as a known gang leader and his alleged ties to organised crime contributed to the decision to transfer him from Pollsmoor,” they said via court papers.
Stanfield remains imprisoned at Helderstroom Prison since August 2025,
While he was at Brandvlei Prison, he faced disciplinary offences such as being in possession of a cellphone charger and was apparently in contact with persons outside of prison and later a cellphone found inside his cell, including four memory sticks.
“According to the respondents, this allegation is contradicted by the legal visit permits and telephone register, which demonstrate that the applicant has not been precluded or unreasonably restricted from accessing his legal representatives for the purpose of consulting with them to prepare for his trial.
“The respondents also disputed that the applicant is detained in solitary confinement. According to the respondents, the applicant has been placed in a single cell at Helderstroom as a remand detainee for safety and security reasons.
“He is kept separate from the convicted offender population. He is afforded daily exercise, regular contact visits, non-contact visits, and telephonic access to his family members and relatives.”
Stanfield and his wife Nicole Johnson, together with their co-accused, face 41 charges under the Prevention of Organised Crime Act (POCA), including murder, attempted murder, fraud, illegal possession of firearms, possession of unlawful ammunition and conspiracy to commit murder.