/ 19 June 2008

Kroonstad prisoners embark on hunger strike

Sixteen awaiting-trial prisoners have embarked on a hunger strike at Kroonstad Medium B prison in the Free State, the Department of Correctional Services said on Thursday.

”Sixteen awaiting trial detainees who have not been sentenced [are on hunger strike because] they claim the regional court has not been processing their cases on time,” said department spokesperson Puleng Mokhoane.

”They have to wait and wait and wait.”

She said one of the prisoners had been awaiting trial for three or four years, others for two years and some for a number of months.

”There is so much backlog for awaiting trial prisoners,” said Mokhoane.

Only a fraction of about 450 awaiting-trial prisoners were on strike.

Mokhoane said the striking prisoners had been separated into single cells and the prison was continuing to supply them with food.

So far none of the prisoners had broken their strike.

The area commissioner had been sent to talk to the prisoners.

Nurses had also spoken to the prisoners about the dangers of embarking on a hunger strike.

The prisoners have been asked to put their concerns in writing and these concerns would be forwarded to the regional court.

South African Prisoners’ Organisation for Human Rights president Miles Bhudu said the prisoners were on strike because there was ”no rule of law” at the Kroonstad Regional Court.

Cases were remanded for months and bail was denied ”willy-nilly,” he said.

Prisoners also felt their legal representatives were negligent.

”They have no interest in proper representation,” said Bhudu.

National Prosecuting Authority regional spokesperson Robin Simasiku said the authority was aware of the hunger strike. He said the NPA was not the cause of any delays.

”We suspect the delays may be because the accused are hiring and firing legal representatives”.

”We suspect that when they don’t want [one representative], they fire him and get another one”.

Some of the strikers apparently did not have legal representatives at all at the moment.

He said the accused also made repeated bail applications which disrupted proceedings.

He said the prisoners had been arrested in connection with rape, housebreaking, cable theft and armed robbery.

The case that was delayed for the most lengthy period of time dated back to 2005.

The delay had arisen because the case involved a crime committed by a group of people and some of them had escaped.

The trial could only proceed when they were recaptured.

Simasiku said the NPA was trying to hold a meeting with the striking prisoners’ legal representatives in order to resolve the situation amicably.

He said this would hopefully take place within a week. – Sapa