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10 years behind bars waiting for trial

Mxolisi Ndlanzi, an awaiting-trial detainee for almost 10 years, has seen new inmates come and go while his case has been dragging on for years between six different courtrooms.

In nine years and 11 months at Pretoria's Kgosi Mampuru II Management Area, Ndlanzi, 42, has made so many court appearances that he has lost count. He has used seven lawyers in the process.

Ndlanzi has four children. His last born, who is nine years old, was born while he was in prison.

The case of house robbery for which he was implicated, along with six other men, has been postponed for various reasons such as unavailability of a prosecutor and witnesses, or a sick magistrate.

In his last court appearance on August 31, the magistrate fell ill just before he called Ndlanzi's case to deliver his judgment. Proceedings had to be postponed by a further two months.

The Department of Justice referred questions to the Department of Correctional Services.

Sibongabakho Nxumalo, spokesman for the Department of Correctional Services, confirmed that Ndlanzi had spent almost 10 years in custody.

"As of March 31 2016, our records indicate that Ndlanzi has been in detention for nine years, five months, 24 days," Nxumalo said.

Nxumalo also confirmed that there we re 41827 remand detainees currently being held in prisons.

According to the 2012/2013 annual report from the Judicial Inspectorate for Correctional Services, the figure stood at 48739 with Eastern Cape having the biggest number (1396) of detainees who have been detained for two to three years without their cases being heard.

Gauteng recorded the highest number (51) of people detained for over five years without their cases being finalised. The report also states that it cost the state about R9000 a month to keep one detainee.

Julia Mashele, a businesswoman and author of Justice Delayed Is Justice Denied, is renowned for being SA's longest-serving awaiting trial prisoner. She served seven years from 1993 for kidnapping, dealing in drugs, fraud and corruption. She was released without being tried.

Last year, Sowetan ran the story of Ishmael Mashigo who had spent 11 years in custody at Boksburg Prison without being tried. He was released a week after the article was published.

In his 2013/2014 budget speech, former correctional services minister Sbu Ndebele said up to 20% of awaiting trial prisoners remained behind bars as they could not afford to pay bail.

Ndebele pushed for such inmates to be freed and have a tracking device attached on them.

This was followed by the White Paper on Remand Detention Management in March 2014 which sought to address gaps within the control of detainees.

However, advocacy groups said the paper was a smokescreen. Remand detainees were normally separated and treated differently to convicted inmates, and subjected to inhumane conditions worse than those of their sentenced counterparts.

"Life here is not good. I plead with the Minister of Justice and Correctional Services [Michael Masutha] to please save me from this hell," Ndlanzi said.

Human rights lawyer Clare Ballard said remand detainees were abused in South Africa.

"It's a fundamental infringement of the right to liberty. The longer an accused is awaiting trial the greater the onus is on the state to find further justification for further remand. The burden on the state increases as the remand period is prolonged in the absence of further justification that accused should be released on bail," said Ballard.

She said old cases should be prioritised by courts.

"The White Paper makes generalised points and resonates with the NPA [National Prosecuting Authority] statutes that are already in place. It's not a particularly helpful document."

 

 

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