Three former Pollsmoor inmates—including two who were reportedly involved in gangs while incarcerated—are using art to navigate life after prison in Cape Town. The men, named in a video feature published by GroundUp on 7 October 2026 as Enrico Samuels, 57, Michael Sauls, 38, and Kleinbooi Hendricks, 57, say painting helped them isolate from gangs inside Pollsmoor Prison and earn money for essentials.
According to the GroundUp feature, the men are now working with retired Pollsmoor warder Brandon Verrooi, who started Pollsmoor’s art programme, and Dr Suzette Leal, who facilitated a narrative therapy course there. Verrooi has long championed creative arts as a rehabilitation tool, helping inmates build skills that assist with reintegration.
Verrooi’s efforts date back at least to 2015 when he spotted inmate Vuyani Nqevu’s drawing talent and placed him in an art skills training course run by Artreach SA. Nqevu, who spent years cycling in and out of Pollsmoor for burglary and robbery, credited art for giving him purpose. “I am not coming back here and that is a promise,” he said in an October 2015 IOL interview.
Pollsmoor’s arts initiatives have involved more than painting alone. Workshops including yoga and breathing exercises ran for a decade under Avital Lang, who aimed to foster peace and personal growth among inmates despite resistance from some in her community. The SA Jewish Report quoted Lang saying, “If I have managed to make even a small difference to one person, it would have been worth it.”
The video feature says the artworks created by Samuels, Sauls, and Hendricks are to be published in a book titled Captured by Words Set Free and are also displayed at the Goodwood Art Gallery, located at Goodwood Prison. These details have not been independently confirmed outside the GroundUp report.
Art programming at Pollsmoor provides a counterpoint to the prison’s notoriously harsh environment marked by overcrowding and gang violence. Verrooi told IOL in 2015, “Whenever we gave them homework they did it despite the overcrowding and prison gangs.”
These creative projects have allowed some inmates to develop new narratives post-release, offering pathways away from crime and towards self-expression and community contribution—critical in a society grappling with high recidivism and social marginalisation.
While the ages of the three men, the book publication, and their specific gang histories remain unverified beyond the GroundUp piece, the longstanding presence of arts programming at Pollsmoor and its positive impact is well-documented across multiple independent reports dating back to the early 2000s.
Cape Flats community members and local arts advocates say such initiatives can help reduce reoffending and support social rehabilitation when integrated with broader support services.
Cape Flats News will follow up with Pollsmoor officials and the involved parties to confirm the details of the Captured book release and current exhibitions at Goodwood later this month.