Ruth Hopkins

Pollsmoor prisoners treated ‘worse than animals’

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Prison conditions Pollsmoor

The next day, we visited Robert*. After his conviction in April, he was moved to the sentenced section of the prison. Hopes of a shorter waiting period at this part of Pollsmoor are dashed when a steady queue builds up at dawn, as the first sun rays pierce through the grey clouds above Cape Town. Six hours later, Robert appears on the other side of a chipped and grimy cubicle. Robert’s parents live in a run-down house in Mitchell’s Plain. … Read more

South Africa needs an effective legal remedy for wrongful convictions

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Fusi-and-Tshokolo-Mokoena

“Thembekile Molaudzi spent 11 years in prison for a crime he didn’t commit, the murder of a policeman. While the only evidence against him was the statement of a co-accused who later recanted his testimony, his appeals were nevertheless dismissed. Fusi Mofokeng and Tshokolo Mokoena are two friends who were at the wrong time and the wrong place after a police officer was killed by a self-defence unit just outside Bethlehem in the Free State, at the tail end of … Read more

Mangaung prison inmate ‘tortured to death’

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Mangaung prison inmate 'tortured to death'

On a cold winter day in 2005, inmate Isaac Nelani asked wardens at Mangaung prison, run by British security firm G4S, for an extra blanket to keep him warm. The prison walls emitted a chill that crept into his joints and bones. Nelani, a 47-year old inmate at Mangaung prison, was HIV-positive, which made him more susceptible to the cold. On a cold winter day in 2005, inmate Isaac Nelani asked wardens at Mangaung prison, run by British security firm … Read more

ConCourt judge’s damning report on Pollsmoor

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Judge Cameron

Justice Edwin Cameron has recently published a report on his visit to Pollsmoor Prison in April. He said he was “deeply shocked” by the “extent of overcrowding, unsanitary conditions, sickness, emaciated physical appearance of detainees”, and that the “overall deplorable living conditions were profoundly disturbing”. The inspection was part of the “prison visits and monitoring programme” of the Constitutional Court. Some of his findings include: Abominable conditions in the awaiting trial section of the prison. The visited cells were “filthy and cramped” … Read more

Mangaung’s hellish prison: G4S not held accountable for human rights violations

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g4s

The DCS took over Mangaung prison in October 2013, when security behemoth G4S lost control of the prison, amid a spate of stabbings and a hostage taking, which followed a protracted strike and dismissal of about two-thirds of the staff. In August last year DCS handed back the prison to G4S. The Minister of Justice, Michael Masutha, visited the jail shortly after the handover and stated that he was “very impressed with the state-of-the-art facility”. But Masutha made no mention … Read more

G4S abuses in South African prison still ignored

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Mangaung prison

On 17 December 2013, former inmate Tebogo Meje was called to the office of the unit manager in Mangaung prison, a South African jail run by British security behemoth G4S. There, members of the Emergency Security Team (EST)–a team of warders also known as the ‘ninjas’, armed with electrically charged shields and other non-lethal weapons–interrogated Meje. On 17 December 2013, former inmate Tebogo Meje was called to the office of the unit manager in Mangaung prison, a South African jail … Read more

British law firm acts for Bloem prisoners

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British law firm acts for Bloem prisoners

Forty-three inmates who allege they were tortured by warders in a Bloemfontein prison are preparing to bring their claim before the British High Court. British law firm Leigh Day is representing the prisoners and served an urgent “letter of claim” to security giant G4S’s headquarters in Crawley in the UK on Thursday. G4S won a R15 billion, 25-year contract in 2000 to build, run and manage the Mangaung Correctional Centre (MCC). “The instructions we have received from our clients attest … Read more

South African prisoners sue G4S over torture claims

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Inside a South African prison.

British law firm acts for inmates alleging they were given electric shocks, forcibly injected with anti-psychotic drugs and held in isolation cells for up to three years A group of South African prisoners are suing G4S over abuse they allege they suffered in a Bloemfontein prison run by the British security company. British law firm Leigh Day, which is representing the 43 prisoners, sent an urgent letter to the company’s UK headquarters in Crawley on Thursday. The inmates claim they were … Read more

Inequality before the law – Is South Africa’s criminal justice system punitive to the poor?

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Inequality before the law – Is South Africa’s criminal justice system punitive to the poor?

“It would be a sad day … if the impression is created that one law counts for the poor and another for the rich and famous,” Judge Thokozile Masipa told the world last Tuesday when she sentenced Paralympian Oscar Pistorius to five years behind bars. She listened carefully to the testimony of acting National Commissioner of Correctional Services Zach Modise and said she “had no reason to believe SA prisons would not be able to cater to the needs of … Read more

Still no progress on Mangaung prison abuse claims

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Tebogo Meje

Ruth Hopkins’ recent piece on the Mail & Guardian looks at what has happened (or rather not happened) since the publication of a 12-month investigation into allegations of solitary confinement, electroshocking, and forced injections with anti-psychotic drugs from inmates held at the G4S-run prison, Mangaung, in Bloemfontein. The wheels of justice are turning slowly in the case of a Free State jail accused of torturing its inmates. A year ago, the Mail & Guardian published the results of a 12-month investigation by … Read more