Socio-Economic Rights for All

Detention conditions

In South Africa, many prisoners are incarcerated in conditions that fall far short of those guaranteed in the Constitution. Detained individuals - whether sentenced or awaiting trial - have the right to detention conditions that are consistent with human dignity; including adequate accommodation, nutrition, education, exercise and medical treatment. In a briefing to Parliament, the Judicial Inspectorate for Correctional Services reported on its investigations and painted a depressing picture: overcrowding, staff and water shortages, excessive lapses in meal times, overall poor and unhygienic conditions, bad infrastructure and inadequate health facilities. Worryingly, the Inspectorate also uncovered many cases where officers exceed the required force needed and this leads to allegations of assault and even torture during surprise mass searches of centres. Another observation was that the centres provided rehabilitation and educational programmes for sentenced inmates, but not for those awaiting trial. As part of the recommendations, the Inspectorate advised that searching should be conducted in a humane manner and be videoed, where assaults and torture are alleged, victims are encouraged to report this to the police and the rehabilitation and educational programmes should be extended to all centres.

In 2016/17, Correctional Services will spend R13bn on incarceration, R1.2bn on rehabilitation and R890m on social reintegration. MPs stated that these priorities are wrong and not enough is channeled to rehabilitation and reintegration of prisoners into society. A major concern for lawmakers is the number of people kept in remand centres for years because they are unable to pay bail, which is often as low as R500. This was a violation of their rights and contributed to overcrowding. Correctional Services agreed and explained that there are 44 000 remand detainees and about 15% of them are unable to make bail. The emphasis should be on releasing the poorest of the poor who cannot make bail. MPs advised that inmates should learn to do repair maintenance as a part of skills development so that it alleviates some of the pressure on the Department. This can include painting, repairing leaking pipes and general upkeep, and will ensure that the inmates maintain their own living facilities for their own betterment rather than just waiting and relying on the Department of Public Works to maintain facilities.

Correctional Services stated that most deaths in prison cells are due to natural causes and in some cases due to HIV/AIDS related diseases like tuberculosis and pneumonia. When inmates arrive at centres, they are not properly checked and screened and do not disclose all their illnesses so the Department cannot determine if inmates contract illnesses inside or outside the centres. The Inspectorate noted it could do more if it had more resources.