Programme Director
Ministers of Corrections/Prisons in Africa
Chairperson: African Union Commission
Chairperson of ACSA and Acting National Commissioner of South Africa’s Department of Correctional Services: Ms Nontsikelelo Jolingana
ACSA Secretary: Mr Percy K Chato
Heads of Corrections/Prisons in Africa
The Local Organising Committee
All Delegates and Participants at this ACSA Ministerial Consultative Forum
Members of the Media
Distinguished Guests
On behalf of the President of the Republic of South Africa, His Excellency President Jacob Zuma, the Department of Correctional Services (DCS) and the people of South Africa, we welcome you all to our country at this milestone gathering of the African Correctional Services Association (ACSA). Africa is an indivisible whole, whose people, and countries, are interdependent on one another. We share similar histories, face common challenges, and the destinies and dreams, of our future remain intertwined.
May we request that we all rise, to observe a moment of silence, and remember the people of Kenya as six people were killed, and many others seriously injured, in the explosions at the Eastleigh estate in Nairobi on Monday (31 March). We also remember the people of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) who are mourning the death of at least 251 people who sadly died in a boat accident, on Lake Albert, on 22 March. May this prayerful moment also remind us of the late Ghanaian author and ex-Chairman of the Ghana Council of State, Professor Kofi Awoonor, who tragically died during the Westgate Shopping Mall attacks, in September 2013, in Nairobi in Kenya. Professor Awoonor, who in the 70s wrote an anthology of poetry on his prison experiences, represented Ghana at the inaugural ACSA Biennial Conference, in September 2010, in Accra. Thank you very much. You may be seated.
We meet under a crucial theme, "Building sustainable and humane correctional systems in Africa: A collaborative responsibility". This theme will also be the focus of the third ACSA Biennial conference, scheduled for July 2014, in Mozambique.
The subject of humane, and dignified, treatment reminds us of the late, prolific Nigerian author, Chinua Achebe. In his 2009 autobiographical book, The Education of a British-Protected Child: Essays, he asserts: "We cannot trample upon the humanity of others without devaluing our own. The Igbo, always practical, put it concretely in their proverb...‘He who will hold another down in the mud must stay in the mud to keep him down’"1. Fyodor Dostoyevsky, who spent four years exiled to hard labour in a Siberian prison camp, wrote in his 1862 novel, The House of the Dead, that, "The degree of civilization in a society can be judged by entering its prisons".
Ministers from our continent, Heads of Correctional Services, Distinguished Guests, Ladies and Gentlemen, our conference takes place during April - celebrated as South Africa’s Freedom Month. As you recall, after years of protracted struggle where the African continent stood side by side with our oppressed masses, all South Africans finally voted for the first time, for a government of their choice, on 27th of April 1994. This year, we celebrate 20 years of our democracy and freedom from the bondage of racism and the evil of apartheid. Mwalimu Julius Kambarage Nyerere was not only talking about his fellow countrymen when he told the British Governor-General, Richard Gordon Turnbull, in 1960 that, "In Tanganyika we believe that only evil, Godless men would make the colour of a man’s skin the criteria for granting him civil rights".
Ladies and gentlemen, countless post-independence African leaders, who were disciplined, patriotic men and women, were incarcerated in colonial prisons. They had first-hand experience of the degrading, violent and inhumane treatment from their colonisers. This unjust prison experience, and our continental heritage of forgiveness and reconciliation with our former oppressors, offers much hope for correctional services in the continent. We must transform these institutions from being sites of retribution, derision and humiliation to institutions of new beginnings and rehabilitation and provide a second chance for those who wronged society.
As brothers and sisters, it is a good thing for us, once in a while, to sit around the fire, as Nigerians do, break the kola nut and deliberate on issues that confront us as a people. In Swahili we say, Umoja ni nguvu – that is, unity is strength. In Zulu, we have a saying, "injobo enhle ithungelwa ebandla," which echoes the Ghanaian proverb that says "one head does not contain all the wisdom"4. In the novel, Things Fall Apart, Achebe reminds us that, "when we gather together in moonlit village ground it is not because of the moon. Every man can see it in his own compound. We come together because it is good for kinsmen to do so".5 May we add, it is not only good for us to meet but it is important for us to keep Correctional Services, and the transformation of prisons, as an urgent matter on the continental agenda as well as in our respective countries.
Ladies and gentlemen, on 7 May, South Africans will once again go to the polls to elect their national, and provincial, representatives. We know too well that our success story, of 20 years of democracy and hard work for a better life for all, is also a good story for the entire African continent. There is a lot for South Africa to learn from the continent about our common, rich heritage of humanness, justice and forgiveness. We are confident too that the continent, from our narrative of 20 years of success in transforming state institutions, can learn something about how the Department of Correctional Services, civil society and communities are working together in entrenching a human rights culture at our correctional centres. We salute you, once more, brothers and sisters, for your priceless contribution to this freedom, democracy and dignity that we South Africans enjoy today. There is still much more work to be done, especially in changing society’s perceptions about the role of Correctional Services, fighting the stigmatisation of ex-offenders, eliminating crime and violence in prisons, training of correctional officials as well as addressing the paltry allocation of resources to correctional centres in Africa.
In a 2008 book entitled Human Rights in African Prisons, by the Human Science Research Council (HSRC), author Jeremy Sarkin puts it to us that, "Prisons are integral features of all societies. They form an intrinsic part of the state system that is embodied in the criminal justice system used to maintain order and social control...[they] represent a microcosm of the contemporary societies of which they are a part".
Our founding President, the late Nelson Mandela who spent 27 years of his life in prison, always insisted on the humane treatment of offenders. Mandela wrote, in Long Walk to Freedom, that, "It is said that no one truly knows a nation until one has been inside its jails. A nation should not be judged by how it treats its highest citizens, but its lowest ones"7. It is for this reason that, in August 1998, when the Department of Correctional Services opened the Emthonjeni Youth Centre, President Mandela personally came and spoke to young offenders about the value of education. He also urged the public that, "We all need to join hands to rescue these youngsters and transform them into worthy and respected citizens of our country [because] we owe it to them and we owe it to ourselves. They are part of our society's problem and rejecting them is not going to solve the problem of crime. They are human beings too, they are our brothers, sisters, our sons and daughters who have disappointed us. They have the right to a chance to unlock their potential to better themselves".
Ladies and gentlemen, in South Africa, and we believe elsewhere in the continent, Correctional Services constitutes the final expression of statehood. The Prisons and Reformatories Act, Act 13 of 1911, introduced a formal prison system in South Africa 103 years ago. Recorded history teaches us one clear lesson: freedom will not last unless it is coupled with order. Order can exist without freedom, but freedom can never exist without order. That freedom and order may co-exist, it is essential that freedom should be exercised under authority and order should be enforced by authority. The enforcement of order should always be guided by the principle of legality, necessity and proportionality.
In terms of the Constitution, authority is vested in the Executive popularly known as the government. Imprisonment is one of the harshest punishments a society can impose on those who transgress its rules. Two key documents have informed, and shaped, the current South African White Paper on Corrections. These are the 1955 Freedom Charter of the African National Congress (ANC), and the 1996 South African Constitution. The Freedom Charter states: "Imprisonment shall be only for serious crimes against the people, and shall aim at re-education, not vengeance". Section 35(2)(e) of the Bill of Rights, in our constitution, says, "Everyone who is detained, including every sentenced prisoner, has the right to conditions of detention that are consistent with human dignity, including at least exercise and the provision, at state expense, of adequate accommodation, nutrition, reading material and medical treatment".
Sarkin (2008) reminds us that Africa’s incarceration rate compares favourably with that of many parts of the world. The continent’s 2005 incarceration rate, of 127 per 100 000, was below the world average of 152 per 100 000. The number of African countries showing an increase in incarceration rates is also lower than the rest of the world. In 2005, the West Africa incarceration rate was 52 per 100 000 people and Southern Africa at 324 per 100 000 people.9 South Africa leads the continent with the highest number of inmates. As at 31st of March 2014, we had 157 136 people in custody. Of these, 113 365 were sentenced offenders and 43 771 were remand detainees. It costs the taxpayer approximately R9,876-35 per month presently for each inmate. Since 2004, the inmate population has been reduced by 31,000 resulting in a saving of more than R1.4 billion to the fiscus. We have also learnt that one way to manage the inmate population is to utilise technology, such as electronic monitoring, which currently costs the taxpayer approximately R3,379 per month per inmate. Through electronic monitoring, we will be able to save almost R6,500 per inmate per month and monitor offenders 24 hours-a-day throughout the country.
In our continent, the number of remand detainees, or awaiting-trial detainees, is a major concern. In her address yesterday, Ms. Nontsikelelo Jolingana indicated that, in some instances, in the continent, Remand Detainees (RDs) constitute up to 97% of people incarcerated for crimes committed against society. Please allow us to reflect on progress that South Africa is making regarding Remand Detainees. On 4 September 2013, Cabinet approved the White Paper on Remand Detention. The White Paper seeks to improve the management of awaiting-trial detainees in correctional centres. The constitutional right of "innocent until proven guilty" underpins the White Paper.
Remand Detention Facilities must, therefore, allow for the minimal limitation of an individual’s rights, while ensuring secure, and safe, custody. The White Paper is a response to the challenges posed by a dramatic increase in RDs over the past 15 years. The White Paper recognises the challenges associated with persons who are in detention, although they have not been found guilty of any crime. To this end, the Department of Correctional Services established a Remand Detention Branch which became operational on 1st of April 2012. Section 49(G) of the Correctional Services Act, Act 111 of 1998 as amended, determines that a RD may not be detained for a period exceeding two years without such matter having been brought to the attention of the court concerned. Since the implementation of Section 49(G), from July last year, the number of remand detainees has been reduced by more than 18%.
Overcrowding at correctional facilities is a global challenge. Former UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan cited, in the 2002/3 UN Commission on Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice, that: "[until] the problem of overcrowding...is resolved, efforts to improve other aspects of prison reform...[are] unlikely to have any meaningful impact"10. The HSRC argues that, "overcrowding is not just an issue of space; it dehumanises prisoners, encourages the spread of communicable diseases (especially HIV/AIDS), minimises the supervision of prisoners, burdens prison staff, and detracts from acceptable levels of hygiene, sanitation and sufficient food".
In the United States, chronic overcrowding is attributed to greater rates of violent crime coupled with harsher sentencing practices. Vivien Stern (1998)11, of the International Centre for Prison Studies (ICPS), also shows that, "the absence of overcrowding does not necessarily equate to a lack of problems. For example, Japanese prisons are not overcrowded and prisoners live in single cells, but these cells are usually bitterly cold and prisoners spend only half an hour per day outside their cells. In addition, severe restrictions and harsh disciplinary measures are imposed. No talking is allowed, letters are heavily censored and solitary confinement is regularly used".
The African Commission on Human and People’s Rights (ACHPR) noted that, "the conditions of prisons and prisoners in many African countries are afflicted by severe inadequacies including high congestion, poor physical, health, and sanitary conditions, inadequate recreational, vocational and rehabilitation programmes, restricted contact with the outside world, and large percentages of persons awaiting trial, among others" (ACHPR 1995a). Various steps are being taken to address this situation. In 1996, the Kampala Declaration on Prison Conditions in Africa, and, in 2002, the Ouagadougou Declaration on Accelerating Penal and Prison Reform in Africa were adopted. Both sought to alleviate the plight of African prisoners.
Ladies and gentlemen, while we agree that a number of our challenges to implement reforms relate to challenges of resources, there is still a lot we can do, as ACSA, to ensure that inmates are afforded the dignity, and humanity, they deserve. We should also bear in mind that corrections is a societal responsibility. We need to find ways of increasing the participation of communities, non-governmental organisations and the private sector in rehabilitation programmes. In Uganda, and Kenya, for instance, we should be encouraged by the The African Prisons Project which works to restore dignity, and hope, to prisoners. 9
Cognisant of the value of our Correctional Officials, the Department of Correctional Services in South Africa accordingly declared 2013 "The Year of the Correctional Official". When society breaks down, Correctional Officials pick up the pieces and deal with the entirety of the human experience. The Correctional Official is the single most important person who mediates between an offender and society. The Official is expected to be a good role model for others in her or his presence. We need to be decisive in rooting out corrupt correctional officials. ACSA must do everything possible to encourage good behaviour among correctional officials. We need to partner more with traditional leaders, the religious community and the media in garnering support for the role of corrections in society. We must be steadfast in fighting the "lock them up and throw away the key" mentality, which often reflects public sentiment. We should all remember Mathew 25: 42-43, in the Bible, where Christ says, "…for I was hungry, and you gave Me nothing to eat; I was thirsty, and you gave Me nothing to drink; I was a stranger, and you did not invite Me in; naked, and you did not clothe Me; sick, and in prison, and you did not visit Me."
Nelson Mandela also taught us that "[we] will achieve more in this world through acts of mercy than [we] will through acts of retribution". In our efforts to rehabilitate offenders, we should also ensure that victims of crime are not neglected or forgotten. It remains a task of Correctional Services to actively facilitate the restoration of relations between offenders, and the communities, where they committed their crimes. We should recall, both as a liberated and pragmatic people, that penal incarceration, as we understand it today, was largely unknown in pre-colonial Africa. As Bah (2003) indicates, "redress in pre-colonial Africa tended to be victim-focused, with compensation as the focal point, not punishment of the offender...centralised states seemed to have had rudimentary prison systems, but again victim compensation was viewed as more appropriate than offender incarceration".
Across the world, retribution, through imprisonment, has not yielded the results of deterring crime. Since retribution is narrowly focused on "moral reprobation or outrage against criminal conduct,"13 it fails to adequately reform offending behaviour and to repair harm experienced by victims of crime. In order for societies to succeed in the fight against crime and eliminate re-offending, victims of crime, offenders, families, and communities need to be active agents. As ACSA, we need to work together in influencing our courts to use restorative justice, and alternative sentencing, more as a way of dealing with peculiar challenges we face in our facilities. In Mozambique and Zimbabwe, restorative justice seems to have received more attention than here in South Africa.
The following quotation by J Ndou (Zimbabwe) in S v Shariwa [2003] JOL 11015 (ZH) is illuminating: "The convicted person should not be visited with punishment to the point of being broken...in our jurisdiction, there has been a paradigm shift. First, over the years our superior courts have emphasised that a sentence of imprisonment is a severe and a rigorous form of punishment, which should be imposed only as a last resort and where no other form of punishment will do. Second, there have been concerted efforts to shift from more traditional methods dealing with crime and the offender towards a more restorative form of justice that takes into account the interests of both society and the victim, i.e. community service..."14
In South Africa, on 28th of November 2012, the Department of Correctional Services launched the Victim-Offender Dialogues (VODs) as part of our shift from retribution to restorative justice.
According to Howard Zehr, the author of Changing Lenses: A New Focus for Crime and Justice (1990), Restorative Justice is motivated by the following factors:
Crime is a violation of people and relationships;
Crime creates obligations to make things right;
Justice involves the victim, the offender, and the community; and
Justice seeks solutions which promote repair, reconciliation, and reassurance.
Victim-Offender Dialogues are underpinned by the five Rs, which an offender must go through. These are:
- Regret;
- Remorse;
- Reconciliation;
- Rehabilitation; and
- Reintegration
Victim-Offender Dialogues place the victims of crime at the centre of the criminal justice system. In trying to find closure, a persisting question, to a victim of crime, is why was the offence committed to me in the first place? VODs provide the safe space for victims to be answered on this constant question. One much publicised case in South Africa, on the effectiveness of the Victim-Offender Dialogues, is the one that involves Stefaans Coetzee – the so-called "Worcester bomber." In 1996 on Christmas Eve, in the small town of Worcester in the Western Cape, an unthinkable, violent crime left four people, including three children, dead. Sixty seven (67) people were injured and maimed, as bombs ripped through the Shoprite shopping centre packed with last-minute shoppers. The first bomb, which exploded around 13h20, hit Mrs Olga Macingwane in such a way that her legs swelled instantly to the size of tractor tyres. After the explosions, the youngest bomber, 17-year old Stefaans Coetzee, said that he was disappointed at the low death toll and regretted that other bombs did not detonate.
The victims of the bombing found support from local organisations, including the Worcester Hope and Reconciliation Process (WHARP) and Khulumani Support Group (KSG). In order to show his remorse, Coetzee expressed a wish to see the victims of the bombing. Just before Christmas in 2009, Mrs Olga Macingwane, accompanied by Harris Sibeko, Nobanzi Ndamoyi and Getrude Louw, visited Stefaans Coetzee at Pretoria Central Correctional Centre. When Mrs Macingwane saw him she said, "When I see you, I see my sister’s son in you, and I cannot hate you". This interaction was another major influence in Coetzee’s decision to turn his life around.
On 30 January 2013, in Pretoria, Coetzee met 60 victims who arrived by the Peace Train from Worcester. Later, Coetzee wrote a letter expressing his wish to visit the site of the terrible bombing, to meet the community at Worcester and to be given an opportunity to apologise for his heinous act. On 16 September 2013, Coetzee met the community at a packed Piet Hugo Hall in Worcester. Coetzee accepted responsibility for his actions, and refused to use his upbringing as an excuse for his actions. While he apologised to the victims and community, he maintained that it would be selfish of him to ask for forgiveness. While others said they had forgiven him, one woman demanded that he be removed from the stage to which he peacefully obliged. The woman was angry, and in tears, and she told Coetzee "I HATE you."
One also recalls an elderly woman, probably in her 70s, who spoke, in isiXhosa, about the unending medical procedures she had to endure since the 1996 bombing. She testified that she now lives with excruciating pain, due to foreign particles in her body because of the blast. This woman suggested that she really had no issue with Coetzee. She said, as a parent with children, she was cautious what she wished on other children because she could never be certain what her own children would do once they were out of sight. She spoke as a mother, and as women often speak, when their children are in trouble, they say kuyahela referring to the painful pangs of birth. This woman had only one wish, to meet Stefaan’s parents. You could tell in her plea that, maybe, that would unlock a series of questions about why their child would commit such an atrocious act.
Research shows that, at least, 95% of those incarcerated will return to society after serving their sentence. We are turning our correctional centres into centres of learning. Last year, we announced that, as from the 1st of April 2013, it is compulsory for every inmate, without a qualification equivalent to Grade 9, to complete Adult Education and Training (AET) level 1 to 4. We are making sure that offenders read, study and work. Upon release, they must be in possession of, at least, a certificate in one hand and a skill in the other. To this end, DCS increased the number of full-time correctional centre schools from one in 2009 to twelve in 2013. We have also introduced the "Reading for Redemption" programme, which encourages reading, and the discussion of books, by inmates.
Working together, there is a lot we, as ACSA, can achieve for the noble calling of corrections in our continent. We must be the architects of a sustainable correctional system in the continent. While others walk, we must run. In the end, history will judge us according to how we treated the most vulnerable in our society including inmates, children and women. We owe this to all our leaders, who suffered for our humanity in the colonial prisons of the past. During the conference, as part of South Africa’s commitment to solidify its commitment to the objectives of ACSA, we will, as a start, be signing MoU’s with the governments of Malawi, Zimbabwe and Mozambique. We wish the conference every success in its deliberations.
Obrigado. Merci. Thank you.
