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'Skop en donner of prisoners and their human rights are over'

OFFENDERS in prisons will now be treated humanely and officials who speak out will be protected.

This comes after the huge outcry by offenders in a number of prisons country-wide that warders treat them as less than human and abused and violated their rights.

This emerged during the correctional services portfolio committee visit to Westville Prison in Durban.

During the visit , correctional services national commissioner Tom Moyane said the department would act decisively to correct a number of issues raised by the portfolio committee.

He said the era of "skop en donner is no longer with us".

"The incarceration of those that committed serious crimes does not give us permission to double their punishment," Moyane said.

Warders are known to use excessive force against offenders in situations where violence erupts between gang members in prisons.

It is alleged that some actions by officials lead to increased unnatural deaths of inmates because of assaults.

Moyane committed the department to address leadership weaknesses, victimisation of officials who speak out, officials who lie to members of parliament and reclassification of offenders.

The committee on correctional services also committed itself to ensure effective service delivery with particular focus on six strategic areas.

These include administration, facilities, inmate labour and privileges, development and care, social reintegration, as well as addressing overcrowding through, among others, awaiting-trial detainees and bail protocol.

Golden Miles Bhudu of the Prisoners' Organisation for Human Rights said Moyane knew nothing about what was happening in the prisons because he is based at head office in Pretoria.

"Moyane is not even respected by the commissioners in the centres. Those people run prison like Bantustans and it is just a PR exercise for Moyane to say that the skop en donner is no longer with them."

He said what Moyane said was a joke because a correctional centre in Johannesburg and one in Pretoria are run differently while in the same province.

"They must not lie to us because they know nothing about jails. They assault inmates and investigate themselves."

 

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