Prisoner tells of tough conditions in SA prisons

A PRISONER jailed in the Johannesburg Correctional Services facility did not mince his words yesterday as he told parliament officials how prison inmates had been failed by the system.

“You are failing us dismally‚” said Ishmael Moshoeshoe‚ an inmate serving a life sentence for murder and other crimes.

He has already spent 17 years at “Sun City” as the prison is popularly known.

Moshoeshoe was addressing officials at a site visit attended by parliament’s portfolio committee on justice and correctional services‚ led by chairman Dr Mathole Motshekga.

The purpose of the visit was to observe the general conditions of incarceration for inmates.

Summing up the issues of the prisoners‚ Moshoeshoe said there were no education facilities and that medication for inmates living with HIV was hard to come by.

He said there were not enough jerseys and blankets for all of the prisoners.

Inmates were forced to shower with cold water and at times had toilet paper shortages.

“There has been no solution to overcrowding‚” he stressed. In one particular case‚ 68 prisoners shared a single cell which contained only two toilets.

Moshoeshoe lambasted officials for bragging about clean audits while conditions inside were dire and justice was slow to come by.

Following the visit‚ however‚ Motshekga stressed that there had been problems for a long time but strides had been made by the likes of acting commissioner James Smalberger.

“You can see they get clean audits. Their administration is perfect‚” said Motshekga.

Earlier this week‚ pictures of scantilydressed women who came to give entertainment to the prisoners on Youth Day surfaced on social media.

An investigation could lead prison officials losing their jobs.

Commenting on the matter‚ Motshekga called for the department to be allowed to conduct their investigation in order to reveal the truth of how the incident happened. — TMG to 13