WATCH: Sun City prison on fire, inmates fighting for their rights
'My sister, take this matter to parliament for us please.'
Behind the high walls and fences of Johannesburg Central Prison, commonly known as Sun City, it appears there is major unrest.
The Medium B section for male prisoners was set on fire overnight due to prisoners allegedly protesting for their human rights.
The Citizen managed to get hold of one of the inmates, whose name will obviously remain anonymous, and he had this to say: “We are simply fighting for our rights and, as jailbirds, it does not mean l no longer have any rights – since l’m in here and still breathing.”
The inmate further said: “We do not have any soap. Basically, toiletries are scarce here – no rights to clothing, no rights to medication … most of our appointments with doctors are cancelled and they say it is for security reasons. As for bedding, it’s a nightmare, my sister. We are 57 in our section and only 50 beds are available. Some do not have mattresses nor blankets on those beds; it’s a pity for new inmates, as they sleep on the floor. As for me, l had a relative buying most of the basic things l have now, but nonetheless its’ not fair as we still deserve those basic things.”
He further said: “The parole board … those ones … aaah! They are malfunctioning, and as we speak the head of prison is refusing to meet us and attend to our grievances – same as the area commissioner. The situation is bad here.”
“They talk of human rights but we are not getting anything close to that here. The correctional services is getting a budget every year, but we get nothing from it. We’re here because we did wrong, but does it mean we are denied simple basic sanitation.”
When we asked if there were any firefighters or ambulances attending the scene he said: ” We haven’t heard any sirens yet; they will leave us to suffocate. The smoke is all over and sponges are being burnt in plastic bins.”
“My sister, take this matter to parliament for us please,” as he concluded.
The Citizen contacted Correctional Services spokesperson Manelisi Wolela and he said:
“We can confirm that a group of offenders started a fire after unlocking this morning – in the court yard of Medium B correctional centre in Johannesburg Management Area, by burning waste bins.
“Officials reinforced and extinguished the fire, no injuries were sustained (although some are being inspected for possible smoke inhalation). There were no deaths, and no offender cell was damaged.
“Our local management went to the scene, ensured the recounting of offenders, and will engage them to determine motives for this unacceptable incident.
“We reassure people that matters are under control at the Johannesburg Management Area. We also wish to reiterate national commissioner Zach Modise’s condemnation of any damage to state property which will invariably result in internal disciplinary processes and criminal charges against those offenders found responsible for such fires. Mr Modise said there is no amount of anger or grievance that can justify destruction of state property.”
– Caxton News Service
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