Nine long-term prisoners who want to have their own spending money in jail had an urgent application for their case to be heard allowed by the Pietermaritzburg High Court on Thursday.
The office of Judge Ronald McLaren said the judge had disallowed the original application because, he said, it was brought on the prisoners’ behalf.
He ruled that the application must be filed by the prisoners themselves.
This was done before a deadline at midday on Thursday and the matter was put on the roll for Monday, July 14. Originally, July 22 was earmarked for the case to be heard. The High Court is in recess until July 31 but the case would be heard by one of the two judges who remain in office while the High Court is in a month-long recess, McLaren’s office said.
The nine applicants, all from Ncome Prison in northern KwaZulu-Natal, claim the Department of Correctional Services acted unconstitutionally when it declined them the right to carry money.
The men say they need the money to buy nutritional food which is not provided by the authorities. – Sapa