I read with interest about a recent award of R2 million in damages for a man who was subject to terrible treatment in our prisons.  He was accused of housebreaking and detained for more than 2 years before the charges against him were withdrawn.  That in itself is a scandal.  During that time, he got HIV and he was also forcibly tattooed by other inmates in the prison.

It really does illustrate the shocking conditions in prisons in SA which are an absolute violation of people’s basic human rights.  I wonder how long this situation is going to be tolerated?  Prisoners get raped and murdered.  Gangs run rampant.  Nothing is done about the situation.  It is a shocking indictment of the current state of affairs and no wonder that attorneys continue to obtain these types of judgments against people who have, in most cases, being wrongly imprisoned.