Sun City inmates ‘living in fear’ of coronavirus

While the spread of the Covid-19 coronavirus is wreaking havoc across the globe and world leaders are working around the clock to protect their citizens, prisoners in South Africa say they are living in fear of contracting Covid-19 and up in arms about it.

Inmates at the notorious Johannesburg Correctional Centre, better known as Sun City, in the south of the city, say they are living on the edge and sleeping with one eye open at night, as they claim that the department of correctional services is not concerned about their welfare.

This week a female prisoner recorded a voice note, which is circulating among prisoners in different prisons in Gauteng, where she complained about the health and safety of prisoners at Sun City prison.

City Press is in possession of the audio.

The agitated prisoner alleged that prison officials were not concerned about prisoners’ safety in the light of the explosion of Covid-19. This lack of concern, she said, forced her to speak up in the hope that her voice reaches President Cyril Ramaphosa.

In the recording, she cried out about how awaiting trial inmates were burning things in their cells in protest at not having been able to go to court since lockdown started.

“Awaiting trial prisoners are being barred from going to court and they are burning things because they want to see their day in court.

"What is worse is that these inmates are being beaten up and teargassed by the emergency support team for demanding their rights to be in court. We request South Africans and the president to hear our cries. We are also scared of the coronavirus,” she exclaimed.

She also alleged that a juvenile inmate who had tested positive for Covid-19 had subsequently been put into isolation at Sun City.

“Right now there is someone in juvenile who tested positive for the coronavirus, but prison officials are hiding that. We are not safe here. The shop is closed here and we are starving. We can’t even buy necessities. We need help,” she pleaded in her recording.

It is alleged that the female prisoner who recorded the voice note was taken into solitary confinement as punishment for her actions.

Another female prisoner told City Press that the juvenile was locked up in isolation after other inmates had made noise about her being around others after testing positive for Covid-19.

Read: Covid-19 prevention is practically impossible if you are in prison

“This young girl is locked up in isolation and seven medical doctors came to check up on her, but this is scary for us. Once this virus spreads here in prison, we are all going to die,” said the prisoner, who is known to City Press.

A male prisoner, who was recently convicted, also wrote a lengthy WhatsApp message, which is also circulating among prisoners with access to phones.

Titled “Sun City Johannesburg Correctional Centre: The State of Coronavirus, A Disaster Waiting to Happen,” the message also includes allegations of corruption inside prisons.

The writer has accused prison officials and some prisoners of fuelling rot in Sun City.

In his text, the prisoner, who is locked up in Medium B, claimed that the modus operandi in Sun City was “corrupt to the core”.

He alleged that prison wardens were in cahoots with certain prisoners to engage in illegal activities, such as prisoners coming from hospital or courts bringing in illegal items such as phones, marijuana, drugs, knives and money.

“Inmates can bring in anything, especially when coming from court or outside hospitals through the main gate, as long as they have cash to bribe the warders. Some inmates go as far as rolling their money in cling wrap and inserting this into their [rectums].”

The inmate, who is also known to City Press, claimed that the worst part was that they had to live without sanitiser, gloves or masks.

“Our cells are overcrowded with no chance for social distancing. In one cell in our section you find 40 to 50 inmates in one place, and in awaiting trial almost 80 to 100 inmates are fighting for the space to breathe.

"We are in danger and this is a ticking bomb because once coronavirus gets here, it’s over for us. We don’t even get tested, only asked three questions: what’s our names, have we travelled in the past 14 weeks and do we have any health complications. What nonsense is that? We are not taken seriously here,” he said.

In response to the allegations, the spokesperson for Correctional Services, Singabakho Nxumalo, stated that there had been screenings at the prison and supplies were being provided continuously, both for inmates and officials.

“The voice note circulating was recorded by a female inmate whose criminal record and habitual behaviour will take many by surprise if it were to be made public.

"There is no substance and no truth whatsoever to what she was saying, but this is a person who will push the system with hope for a reprieve. There is no solitary confinement in our correctional centres. Inmates are at times isolated for different reasons, but that is never a permanent feature.”

Nxumalo also said that due to the suspension of visits, the department had issued a circular advising correctional centres to increase their buying power.

“This will allow inmates to buy more items from the shops. We have also ramped up [provision of] toiletries to inmates so that offenders are not disadvantaged.

"The allegation that a shop has been closed is not only ridiculous but [also] says a lot about the character [of the person] making these allegations,” Nxumalo said.

He also denied claims of coronavirus infection at Sun City prison.

“Officials who travelled abroad have been screened and further instructed to go for testing. They are not allowed to report for duty until [their] medical results are received.”

Get in touch  City Press

+27 11 713 9001 news@citypress.co.za Media Park, 69 Kingsway Road, Auckland Park

Rise above the clutter | Choose your news | City Press in your inbox

City Press is an agenda-setting South African news brand that publishes across platforms. Its flagship print edition is distributed on a Sunday.