The Ministry of Justice is in charge of the prison administration (Department of Correctional Services, DCS).
Two facilities operate under a public-private partnership (PPP): Kutama Sinthumule Correctional Centre (GEO Group, USA), Mangaung Correctional Centre (G4S, Great Britain).
Prison healthcare is managed by the Deputy Minister of Correctional Services, attached to the Ministry of Justice. [^Heal] A medical examination must be performed on all prisoners upon admission. This procedure is not systematically implemented. Most infirmaries in prison are in a state of disrepair. Hygiene conditions are poor in most facilities. Medical access appears to be insufficient. Many basic medical and pharmaceutical supplies are lacking.

In March 2020, prisoners expressed their fear that their detention conditions would contribute to the spread of the coronavirus. In St Albans prison for instance, up to a hundred prisoners share a cell, while new prisoners were still being admitted daily. Several prisons experienced water shortage during the pandemic. This worsened the already critical hygiene conditions for prisoners and officers, sometimes for several weeks. In July 2020, people incarcerated at Thohoyandou prison reported: “the toilets were not flushed. Inmates drank from garbage cans filled with water where plates and hands are also washed”. In September 2020, all water supplies and sources around St Albans had been dry for several weeks. A prison officer alerted that prisoners and staff were queuing up to receive water from canisters delivered daily, unable to distance themselves physically. Prisoners were often unable to flush toilets for several days. They also complained about the access to food, since many of the prisoners usually in charge of the kitchen were placed in quarantine.

Prisoners and civil society organisations raised the alarm about the extremely difficult access to healthcare during the pandemic. In two prisons, prisoners reported that the infirmary had closed, that no medical staff was present on the premises to provide treatments. In July 2020, prisoners on hunger strike in Sun City prison protested an aggravated lack of access to medical care:

“It’s a mess here. (…) People are dying each and every day. Last week two diabetic prisoners died because they didn’t get their injections.”

Preventive measures were announced as of March 2020, with a “thorough cleaning” campaign for all facilities. The Ministry of Justice affirmed that enough equipment and supplies had been sent to all prisons. Testimonials from members of staff, prisoners and civil society however reported a systematic lack of PPE and hand sanitiser. Early April 2020, journalists collected evidence showing that prison staff had no protective equipment and that containers of hydroalcoholic gel, placed in evidence during the Minister’s visit of Sun City prison, were filled with water. In June 2020, some people incarcerated in Leeuwkop, Baviaanspoort and Zonderwater prisons, panicked by the lack of preventive measures implemented, intentionally burned themselves with boiling water or injected themselves with sanitary products in order to be placed in sanitary isolation.

Prison inspectors reported, from their only visit during the pandemic at Sun City prison in Johannesburg in May, that prisoners were spending entire days locked up in their cells, only leaving at mealtimes and with no access to a daily outdoor walk.
Prisoners and staff members reported the inadequate management of entries and movements. Incoming prisoners were admitted without being tested or isolated from the rest of the population. In April 2020, families of the prison staff in St Albans and East London, living in more than 800 apartments and houses on the prisons’ premises, expressed concern as they were not screened in any way when entering the facility. At the same time, journalists entering the Sun City prison did not have to undergo any health checks.

In May and July 2020, some prison officers went on strike to protest the ineffective temperature checks done on incoming prisoners after cases were identified in the general population.

In June 2020, prisoners in several facilities called for the members of the administration living outside the prison to stop entering and limit themselves to escorting transfers. In July 2020, following the deaths of three prison officers, the prison administration instructed officers not to move around, sit or eat in groups. The prison staff union argued that overcrowding made physical distancing impossible even for prison staff. In September 2020, the administration reportedly recalled from quarantine several prison officers at Kgosi Mampuru, despite prevention guidelines.

In April 2020, the first positive cases were reported amongst staff at East London, St Albans, Kutama Sinthumule, Worcester and Warm Bokkeveld facilities. By 19 April 2020, 56 prisoners and 43 staff members were tested positive in several Provinces. The National Institute of Communicable Diseases announced screening campaigns after new cases were found amongst prison officials at East London facility. In June 2020, some prisoners at Leeuwkop reported to have been awaiting their test results for over a month.

At the end of April 2020, the government announced an investigation on the cause of death of a prison officer in the Province of Cape-Western.

On 23 June 2020, seven prisoners and six officers had died from COVID-19. Two months later, death figures had risen to 43 prisoners and 60 prison staff. On 25 September, Kgosi Mampuru prison, holding over 7,000 prisoners, reported more than 177 cases amongst the prison population. Five of them died.
The government had launched in April 2020 an online counter for infected prisoners and officers. Both staff members and prisoners regularly contested the veracity of the published numbers.

The Africa Criminal Justice Reform (ACJR) organisation observed an increase in the number of people in custody during the pandemic: “Because the courts were not functioning properly during the lockdown, people were not going out.” Many judicial cases were delayed for weeks because of the lack of officers to escort prisoners to their audience. More than 500 foreign nationals having completed their sentence were not released since closed borders prevented their deportation. In June 2020, the Minister of Justice stated that more than half of the country’s prison population was awaiting trial. A large number of people were placed in pre-trial detention for violating lockdown, increasing the overcrowding.
In April 2020, a prison service supervisor and a coalition of NGOs called upon the Ministry of Justice to release ill and elderly prisoners, those condemned for non-violent offences and those with remaining sentence of one year or less, and undocumented migrants.

A month later, the South African President announced the early release of 19,000 prisoners, which accounts for 12% of the prison population.

Those convicted of minor offences who had already served part of their sentence were to be released on parole by 17 July 2020. Those who had been convicted of murder, attempted murder, sexual assault or child abuse were excluded from this measure, despite being held in the most overcrowded facilities.
Following this statement, the South African Prisoners Organisation for Human Rights (SAPOHR) called for the early release of a further 24,000 prisoners in order to match the official prison capacity. The organisation asked for the prison population to decrease from 160,000 to less than 120,000. As of 30 June 2020, only 4,000 prisoners of the announced 19,000 had effectively been released.
In September, many severely ill prisoners at Ncome prison (KwaZulu-Natal) complainedthat the government had not followed through on its release program. They said they feared for their lives. Released prisoners were eligible to the social relief grant funded by the Department of Social Development, on the same basis as the unemployed in the general population.

As of 18 March 2020, all activities, including workshop and educational trainings were cancelled or limited. Activities including external actors were suspended, among which the rehabilitation programs. On June 2020, some prisoners were mobilised at Barberton (province of Mpumalanga) to build a hundred-beds hospital for people suffering from COVID-19.

Communication with families¶

On 18 March 2020, most visits were suspended for a 30-day period, with a few exceptions notably on the occasion of journalists visits.
Families often provide for their loved ones with parcels containing bedding, soap, food, which are insufficiently supplied by the administration. Following the suspension of visits, prisoners complained that they did not receive packages or letters sent by their families. The prison administration did not effectively distribute additional supplies.
The organisation Africa Criminal Justice Reform (ACJR) stated that many of the prison telephones were broken before the pandemic and that it was unlikely that they had been repaired under the national lockdown. No additional phones were distributed and there was no indication of temporary free calls. For lack of available equipment, no videocall or e-mail systems were set up for prisoners to contact their families. Local organisations have regretted the lack of effective attempt by the administration to preserve prisoners’ contact with the outside world.
On 2 September 2020, the prison administration created a dedicated call line for inquiries and complaints from families, accessible during working hours. On 7 September 2020, visits were resumed. Prisoners were entitled to a monthly visit from one family member. Relatives had to schedule the visit by phone or email at least two days before coming to the prison. They had to wear masks and observe health protocols. Prisoners were once again allowed to receive parcels during their relatives’ visits. Local organisations regretted the partial and belated lift of the restrictions on visits.

Inspection visits¶

As of 18 March 2020, all official prison inspections, reporting and investigations had been suspended, including the South African prison oversight body. Civil society engaged the NPM (particularly the South African Human Rights Commission and JICS) on the urgency to maintain oversight mechanisms. On 5 May 2020, the Judicial Inspectorate for Correctional Services (JICS) visited pre-trial prisoners incarcerated at Sun City (Johannesburg). This was the first facility visited since the beginning of the pandemic. Two letters sent by prisoners to the JICS motivated this visit. However, local citizens contributing to the JICS visits (Independent Correctional Centre Visitors) were still prohibited access to the correctional facilities until 1st June 2020. Due to the backlog of visits, civil society organisations anticipate that the JICS will not be able to fulfill its projected schedule for the year. No additional resources have been allocated to the JICS to mitigate these delays.

On 19 April 2020, the South African Prisoners Organisation for Human Rights (SAPOHR) called on its members to “embark on an indefinite passive resistance, which include[d] downing tools, passive hunger strikes, disobedience, and nudity”.
Protests erupted in various facilities. Prisoners were seen burning their uniforms and mattresses, barricading themselves, throwing projectiles and filming their demands. Many prisoners filmed their living conditions, their acts of protest and communicated their claims using contraband cell phones. In St Albans (5 May 2020) and Butterworth (14 June 2020) prisoners shared photos and videos of their actions on the internet and through relatives.
Several hunger strikes were recorded. Prisoners awaiting their trial were begging to be judged while convicted prisoners demands related to their conditions of detention. On 27 June 2020, prisoners at Potchefstroom prison set cell blocks on fire, demanding “to be tested or to be released”.

On 13 July 2020, prisoners in the maximum-security wing of St Albans prison went on a hunger strike for several days over their detention conditions, the lack of sanitation and the beatings they endured. One prisoner claimed that about 2,000 fellow prisoners were involved in the strike.

At Qalakabusha (4 June) or Voorberg (12 May) prisons, several officers refused to go back to work without proper prevention measures and PPE.
The acts of protests resulted in several casualties. On 20 April 2020, the prison staff repressed a collective movement in Baviaanspoort prison. Two prisoners were injured and taken to the infirmary. On 13 August 2020, seven officers and one prisoner at the Westville prison in Durban were stabbed by a group of prisoners while receiving their breakfasts. Prisoners explained that the incident “was the result of months of tension finally boiling over”, with “unjustified punishments“, excessive use of cell confinement, drug seizures, and the unavailability of COVID testing.

Civil society organisations raised the alerted about the lack of provision of disinfectant, PPE and mass testing in prisons. They expressed their concerns over the effects of suspending prison visits and urged the authorities to implement compensatory measures. They considered the government’s response unsatisfactory.

They said that minimal efforts were made to release prisoners incarcerated for minor offences. For example, the South African Network of People who Use Drugs (SANPUD) suggested that the release of people incarcerated for drug-related infractions would solve prison overcrowding.

According to the organisation, half of the prison population is convicted for the possession of small quantities of drugs.
Maximum security facilities are amongst those most subject to overcrowding. No sentence adjustments targeted the people held at those facilities. Civil society organisations claimed that this overlooked the low risk of releasing prisoners who are non-violent, old, or suffering from pre-existing health conditions.