Prisoners' group condemns ANC Youth League bid

Prisoners' group condemns ANC Youth League bid

By Norm Dixon

The SA Prisoners Organisation for Human Rights (SAPOHR) has expressed "shock and outrage" at the ANC Youth League's involvement in a consortium bidding for a multimillion-rand contract to run two private prisons.

Golden Miles Bhudu, president of SAPOHR, said the ANCYL's decision to bid for the prisons was an abuse of its power and its links to the ruling African National Congress.

Bhudu said that prisons in South Africa were not places of "development" or safety for youth, but places of danger.

"It is very clear that the ANCYL is not about getting the tender to change living conditions, and secure better treatment, education, training, rehabilitation for young inmates, or about reintegrating our youth back into the society as responsible citizens. It is all about political expediency, get-rich-quick schemes spiced with narrow party-political and individual interest."

He concluded, "We hope that the ANCYL will be wise enough and withdraw from this opportunist venture".

Meanwhile, a report released on November 11 revealed that almost 400 people have died custody in the last six months in South African detention centres, including 120 who died violently during police operations.

During the same period more than 1000 complaints were filed against South African police, who were accused of "murder, torture, rape and bullying during interrogations aimed at extracting confessions", the Dakar-based prisoners' rights group International Prison Observatory said.

From GLW issue 299