The Weekly Editorial

The revelations in several news outlets last week about the abuse and electrocution of prisoners in Mangaung maximum prison by beleaguered British security firm, G4S, are disturbing to say the least.

Despite denials by the company that its workers had electrocuted and drugged prisoners at Mangaung prison, the evidence is too overwhelming to ignore. And actions needs to be taken and speedily.

We urge the department to step in and investigate as soon as possible and welcome the announcement by correctional services minister, Sbu Ndebele, that he will conduct a comprehensive enquiry into the allegations.

Human rights abuse and violations of any citizen in this country, irrespective of whether they are prisoners or law abiding citizens, is illegal and punishable by law. The company has already showed it cannot efficiently run the prison given the several riots, hostages and attempted escapes at the maximum security facility. If it is true that its workers physically abused prisoners then its suspension from running the prison must be turned into a permanent termination of its entire multi-million contract.

The Wits Justice Project said some prisoners were forcibly injected with anti-psychotic medication and subjected to electric shocks. The abuse allegations at Mangaung – the second-largest privately run prison in the world according to G4S – follow scandals at the British company such as failing to provide enough guards at the London 2012 Olympics and discrepancies in tagging prisoners in Britain.

Ruth Hopkins, an investigative journalist with the Wits Justice Project, said she had documented cases of beatings – including electro-shocking – involving about 30 inmates. She had also documented about 20 cases of forced injections of anti-psychotic drugs.

Hopkins said a pattern that emerged throughout her investigation is that inmates, who were considered difficult or who were involved in some problem, would be taken to single cells in the prison, stripped naked, poured with water all over their bodies, put on a metal bed frame and electrocuted.

The Mail and guardian reported that it spoke to 35 sources – prisoners as well as security guards, prison and health officials – and perused medical records seen by reliable sources, legal documents and video footage shot inside the prison which corroborates stories of abuse and electrocution within the notorious prison.

A 12-month-long investigation by the paper into the prison has uncovered video footage shot inside the prison hospital that shows prisoners being given medication against their will, as well as the use of electroshocks and assaults on prisoners.

The medication, Modecate, Risperdal and Clopixol Depot cause memory loss, muscle rigidity and other serious, potentially life-threatening side effects such as strokes and cardiac arrest, and by law is only meant to be used under strictly controlled circumstances. But these drugs have been used at the prison up to five times a week, sometimes on inmates who show no sign of being psychotic.

The paper related the story of inmate, Sello Mogale, and fellow inmates Willem Vis, Joseph Maruping, David Kambhule and Aubrey Buthelezi. Vis told the paper that he felt like his jaw is falling off, dizzy adding that his muscles are spastic and memory was gone.

The other inmates nodded as Vis relates the side effects of the anti-psychotic medicine called Clopixol Depot. He said that the prison started injecting him halfway through 2012 when he complained of hearing voices in his head and a general feeling of depression. When he refused the medication, the prison’s emergency security team – known in the jail as the “Ninjas” or the “Zulus” – was called. They are a 16-man team who are called when the warders cannot handle the situation.

Vis alleges that six of them, armed with electroshock shields and Tasers, held him down on the bed, while a nurse injected the antipsychotic drugs into his buttocks.

Mogale, who was sentenced to life for rape in 2008, arrived at the maximum security prison in 2012. He says that the forced monthly injections of Clopixol Depot started soon after his arrival, when he complained of depression and suicidal thoughts. A staff member at the hospital, who wishes to remain anonymous for fear of losing employment, told the Wits Justice Project that Mogale and Vis are given Clopixol Depot once a month.

There are allegations that the authorisations for the use of injections through the command structures – which all lead to the head of the prison, Johan Theron.

The department assumed command of the prison on October 9, after it established that the management had lost “effective control over the prison” following a lengthy spate of stabbings, riots, strikes and a hostage-taking.

The department was obliged to step in after G4S dismissed 330 warders and replaced them with uncertified staff, which is unlawful. We hope that Ndebele will live to his promise to leave no stone unturned in order to ensure that those implicated “in such inhumane acts face the consequences of their actions”.