
South Africa
Capital city — Pretoria
Incarceration rate (per 100,000 inhabit…
i10/2022Country population
i2022Type of government
iCentral Intelligence Agency, The World Factbook - South AfricaHuman Development Index
0.713(109/191)
iHomicide rate (per 100,000 inhabitants)
i2021Name of authority in charge of the pris…
Total number of incarcerated people
i31/03/2023/ Judicial Inspectorate for Correctional ServicesPrison density
143 %According to the…
i11/08/2023Total number of prison facilities
243As of March 2022,…
i31/03/2022/ Judicial Inspectorate for Correctional Services, Annual Report 2021 -2022, p. 13.An NPM has been established
yes, in 2019On 19 July 2019,…
Female prisoners
i31/03/2023/ Judicial Inspectorate for Correctional ServicesIncarcerated minors
0.1 %Sixty-five childr…
i31/03/2023/ Judicial Inspectorate for Correctional ServicesPercentage of untried prisoners
35.6 %The high rate of…
i31/03/2023/ Judicial Inspectorate for Correctional ServicesDeath penalty is abolished
yes, since 1997The last executio…
iTogether against the death penalty (ECPM), Worldmap
Prison Life Index
The evaluations measure the violations of prisoner rights by the State. They are based on extensive desk research and expert evaluations. Please refer to the methodology to find out how the Prison Life Index data is collected, sorted, and aggregated.
The data and information for South Africa were collected between February 2023 and June 2023.
Eating, sleeping, showering
Food
People in prison have access to drinking water
People in prison have access to food
All people in prison must access to “clean drinking water” and “an adequate diet to promote good health” (Article 8, Correctional Services Act 111).
In practice, these requirements are not always met. Some rural facilities experience drinking water shortages due to problems with water pipes and drought, from which the entire community suffers. Meals are generally distributed twice per day. The first meal is served around 9 a.m. and the second one, composed of both lunch and dinner, around 1 p.m. According to the Judicial Inspectorate for Correctional Services (JICS) the impossibility of serving the third meal at the end of the day is due to staff shortages.
Accommodation
People in prison have sufficient living space
People in prison can sleep in good conditions
The premises are in good condition, clean and accessible
Most individuals are held in multiple occupancy cells, which accommodate between 20 and 100 persons. The minimum standard for living space per person is 5.5 m2 for people accommodated in single cells and 3.3 m2 for those in multiple occupancy cells. In practice, this is not respected. Several people can be held together in a single occupancy cell. The ventilation and lighting are often insufficient, especially in old or overcrowded facilities.
As of August 2023, the prison density was 143%. In 2021, the South African Human Rights Commission (SAHRC) underlined “extreme overcrowding” throughout the country. The same year, the prison administration also reported that some facilities operated at 275% of their official capacity. Remand centres and those located in urban areas face the highest levels of overcrowding.
The prison administration must provide separate beds, appropriate bedding and blankets for all incarcerated persons. Bedding is often scarce and in poor condition. In 2022, the JICS reported that some people in Bizana remand prison and Ingwavuma prison had to sleep on the floor.
Personal hygiene
Adequate sanitary facilities allow people in prison to maintain their personal hygiene
People in prison have access to personal hygiene products
People in prison have access to clothing
Toilets and showers are usually located in the cells. In practice, sanitary facilities can face dysfunctional plumbing (leaking taps, blocked toilets). The water is not always hot or available from the tap. The JICS reported in 2022 that people at Ingwavuma prison had to use water from buckets to wash themselves and flush toilets. In overcrowded multiple occupancy cells, a high number of people in prison must share the same sanitary facilities.
Personal hygiene products provided free of charge by the prison administration are insufficient.
Upon admission, each incarcerated person should be provided with one set of clothing by the prison administration. In Bizana remand facility and in Ingwavuma rural facility, clothing shortages have been reported by the JICS. In 2021, the SAHRC noted that most people awaiting trial lacked adequate clothing.
Medical care
Preventive framework
A disease transmission risk reduction programme is in place
People in prison have access to health awareness and information programmes
Screening programmes make it possible to diagnose people with contagious diseases
Equipment and infrastructures limiting the risk of disease and infection transmission are available
Vaccination programmes are organised
People in prison receive a medical examination upon admission
Tuberculosis and HIV are two of the most prevalent diseases among people in prison. In 2021, the organisation TB HIV Care identified 2,133 persons, around 8.5% of the prison population, as HIV positive. The prison administration partners with civil society organisations such as TB HIV Care and South Africa Partners to implement prevention measures.
Information on health, risks and prevention measures is available to people in prison in the form of a pamphlet. Experts reported that these are only available in English and Zulu. Most of the information is provided by nurses on-site. Screenings are not systematically organised for prevalent diseases. Specific attention and means are put in place to identify cases of tuberculosis and HIV. Voluntary testing is also organised. Some equipments, such as condoms, are available. Consistent distribution is not ensured by the prison administration. Specific places to isolate people and prevent contagion exist but their effectiveness is limited by overcrowding and poor infrastructure.
Upon entry, people in prison must undergo a medical examination. In practice, the Judicial Inspectorate of Correctional Services (JICS) reports that health check-ups and screenings upon admission are not always conducted.
General health care
Access to general health care is quick and consistent
Health workers are qualified and independent
Adequate health infrastructures are available
Mental health and dental care
Access to mental health and dental care is quick and consistent
Mental health and dental care workers are qualified and independent
Adequate mental health and dental care infrastructures are available
Access to both general and specialised healthcare is limited and inconsistent throughout the territory. Inspecting Judge Edwin Cameron wrote in July 2023 that “the 2021-2022 annual report of the JICS pain[ted] an agonizing picture of the state of prison healthcare.”
Staffing varies considerably between facilities, some having personnel presence on a weekly basis and others having virtually none. In 2020, the South African Human Rights Commission (SAHRC) reported that some facilities had severe shortages of health workers including nurses, general practitioners, psychologists, psychiatrists and dentists.
Every facility is required to have specific health infrastructure for primary health care services. In practice, the JICS reported in 2022 that certain health care facilities did not meet these standards.
Care for people with specific needs
People experiencing gender transition can access the necessary care
Elderly people can access the necessary care
Children can access the necessary care
Women can access the necessary care
People with communicable diseases can access the necessary care
People with addictions can access the necessary care
People with mental illnesses or psychiatric disorders can access the necessary care
People with physical disabilities can the access necessary care
There is no specific care or treatment for the elderly, people suffering from addictions or people with mental illnesses or psychiatric disorders. Incarcerated women lack access to gender specific healthcare services. Availability varies between facilities, and continuity of care remains marginal. People with communicable diseases such as Tuberculosis or HIV receive adequate medical treatment. TB HIV Care partners with the prison administration to provide HIV care and treatment including antiretroviral therapy (ART) initiation and viral load suppression.
Continuity of care
People in prison can continue the health care or treatments started before admission
An individual medical file is opened upon admission and is accessible to the patient
A complete individual medical file must be kept on paper for each incarcerated person. In practice, medical files are not always updated Only health workers have access to the file.
Being protected
Legal safeguards
People in prison can access legal assistance
People in prison are able to notify a third party in the event of detention, transfer, serious illness or injury
Each person in prison has a confidential file in the official, complete and up-to-date registers
People in prison have access to the internal regulations of the facility they are held in
People entering detention are informed orally of their obligations and the rules of the facility. Lawyers for Human Rights note that hard copies of the regulations are not provided. People serving short sentences might not have access to the information at all.
People in prison experience difficulties accessing the legal aid guaranteed by the Constitution of 1996 and the Correctional Services Act 111 of 1998. At the national level, there are not enough public or private legal advisers to cater for the large prison population. Overcrowding and staff shortages also strain lawyers’ access to facilities, especially in remand facilities.
The means to notify loved ones or third parties in case of transfer are defective.
Physical and psychological integrity
There is a comprehensive preventive and protective framework
The disciplinary system set out by public regulation is proportionate and appropriate
The different categories of people in prison are placed in separate facilities or wards
The working and training conditions of prison staff contribute to the preventive framework
The preventive framework is effective
People in prison are not subjected to physical harm
Discipline is enforced in a proportionate way
People in prison are not subjected to abusive, cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment
Experts reported that legislation does not provide prison staff with the necessary guidance regarding the use of force or instruments of restraints.
In 2008, solitary confinement was removed from Correctional Services Act 111 of 1998, and replaced with a measure of isolation called “segregation” (article 30, Correctional Services Act). In practice, there is no notable difference between the two. Segregated people in prison spend 22 to 23 hours a day alone in a cell, with no human contact. At Ebongweni Super-Max prison (Kokstad) and Mangaung prison (Bloemfontein), the Judicial Inspectorate for Correctional Services (JICS) reported in 2022 that individuals could spend years under the segregation regime.
The separation of different categories of people in prison is generally respected. Lawyers for Human Rights report that transgender and intersex people must be separated for protection. The placement is based on self-reporting, which is not always done by people in prison for fear of discrimination. Separation is sometimes experienced as punishment due to isolation and/or mistreatment by officials.
Understaffing is a recurring issue. The initial training of guards focuses on security. No training is provided on human rights or legal safeguards.
The preventive framework is not effective. Very high levels of violence are observed. In 2022, the JICS reported gang violence and corruption in various facilities, such as Durban Medium B, Pollsmoor and Mangaung prison. People in prison are subjected to physical harm, both from prison staff and other incarcerated people. These occurrences are under-reported and under-investigated. The JICS noted in 2022 that “the increase of violent incidents where DCS officials were implicated in the death of inmates (…) continued to rise”. According to sources, a large proportion of disciplinary sanctions are imposed informally and arbitrarily.
Complaint, appeal and inspection measures
Inspection mechanisms are in place
Internal or administrative inspections are carried out regularly by the central administration
External inspections are regularly carried out by independent bodies
The complaint and appeal mechanisms are effective
In the event of an offense committed against a person in prison, the response of the institution is effective
People in prison, their legal assistance or their loved ones can file a complaint
South Africa ratified the United Nations Optional Protocol for the Convention against Torture on 20 June 2019. A National Preventive Mechanism composed of multiple institutions was established one month later. It is coordinated by the South African Human Rights Commission (SAHRC). Among its member institutions, the Judicial Inspectorate of Correctional Services (JICS) is responsible for conducting external inspections of prisons. Their financial and human resources are insufficient.
The Constitutional Court of South Africa declared, in December 2020, that certain provisions of the Act are unconstitutional because they do not guarantee sufficient independence for the JICS. The Constitutional Court’s judgement requires that the JICS becomes financially and functionally independent from the prison administration.
Members of Parliament, judges and magistrates are entitled to conduct unannounced monitoring visits of facilities at any given time (Correctional Services Act 111 of 1998). These visits do not happen regularly.
People in prison can file complaints to the prison administration or to the JICS. The lack of trust in the system does not encourage incarcerated people to raise complaints. Issues have been reported regarding the responsiveness of the prison administration in handling complaints.
Being active
Work
Every person in prison can access a job
People in prison who work receive equitable remuneration and are free to use at least part of their earnings
People in prison work in good conditions
People in prison have access to a diverse range of qualifying jobs that are not more dangerous or arduous than work outside the prison
The prison administration is required to provide work for people in prison “as far as practicable” (article 40, Correctional Services Act). In practice, most of them do not have access to work. Increased focus on security in recent decades has exacerbated this issue.
The diversity of jobs is low and varies across the territory. People in prison can, for example, work as service providers in their facility (maintenance, kitchen work). 35,110 incarcerated people were employed by the prison administration in agricultural labour and workshops in the 2022-2023 period.
Workers can receive a remuneration, called gratuity. The amount is determined by the prison administration and significantly lower than what would be given outside for similar work. People in prison can use this gratuity to purchase goods from the prison commissaries, where prices are highly inflated compared to those on the outside. They can be required to work on Sundays and during holidays to ensure the facilities are well maintained and operational. All workdays are limited to a maximum of eight hours. People in prison are not covered by insurance or general labour protections: they are excluded from the Labour Relation Act and Basic Conditions of Employment Act.
Training and education
People in prison have access to vocational training
People in prison have access to education
Qualifying vocational training is provided by VTEC-SA, a prison administration-registered training organisation. The availability of such trainings varies across the country and is insufficient. Trainings are more scarce and less diverse for incarcerated women than for men. Women have a significantly lower access to trainings.
Secondary education is available to sentenced and untried children under the age of 15 and/or not having attained Grade 9. Minors are required to attend school. The resources allocated to education are insufficient, leading to shortages of teachers and supplies. Classes are taught by professional teachers recruited by the prison administration, by members of civil society organisations and by people in prison through peer education. Incarcerated individuals can attend university programmes through distance courses at their own expense.
Cultural, sporting and spiritual activities
People in prison spend at least one hour per day in the open air
People in prison have access to recreational and cultural activities
People in prison have access to a library
People in prison can participate in recreational and cultural activities
People in prison have access to physical and sporting activities
People in prison can practice their spirituality
People in prison generally spend at least one hour per day in the open air. In some facilities, they cannot be escorted to the yard due to overcrowding, staff shortages and security measures.
Cultural activities, such as choirs, are infrequently organised by the prison administration. Each facility must be equipped with a library. In practice, the supply and diversity of books in libraries are insufficient for the prison population. Books accessible for disabled and foreign nationals are in short supply. Remand facilities are often deprived of any type of cultural activity or library. People in prison have access to designated spaces for physical activities. They are often poorly equipped and the allocated resources are insufficient.
People in segregation cannot participate in cultural or physical activities. In 2022, the Judicial Inspectorate for Correctional Services (JICS) reported that individuals held in solitary confinement at Ebongweni and Kgoši Mampuru II prisons had one hour of exercise per day, alone in an isolated exercise cage. People with disabilities experience difficulties accessing activities due to inaccessible infrastructure.
Generally, people can practice their spirituality freely. Places of worship are made available and access to religious counsellors is guaranteed by the South African Constitution of 1996. The majority of people in prison are Christian, which is representative of religious demographics in the general population. Experts reported unequal treatment between people practising christianity and people from other religious minorities such as Muslims.
Being connected
Connection to loved ones
People in prison can correspond in writing with their loved ones
People in prison can talk with their loved ones on the phone
People in prison can receive visitors
People in prison may be granted temporary leave to visit their loved ones
Measures are in place to guarantee the best interests of children of an incarcerated parent
The right to maintain connections with loved ones is protected under Article 35 of the Constitution as well as the Correctional Services Act 111 of 1998. In practice, the means put in place do not guarantee the respect of this right.
People in prison can send and receive letters and are generally provided with pens and paper free of charge. The prison administration monitors the correspondence and are responsible for taking it to the post office. Long delays are observed. People in prison are allowed to make calls using prepaid cards. Phone booths are located outside the cells. They are few in numbers. Systemic overcrowding reduces accessibility to phones. The Judicial Inspectorate of Correctional Services (JICS) has also observed that phones remain broken for an extensive amount of time due to poor maintenance by Telkom, the private company in charge. People in prison are not allowed to own cell phones. The number and duration of visits depend on the security classification of the person receiving the visit. Visits are limited: incarcerated people can receive 24 to 45 visits per year according to the Department of Correctional Services (DCS). They can receive visits from their loved ones, including young children. The booking system is defective and available timeslots for visits are scarce. In 2019, the JICS also found that some older and smaller facilities lacked proper visiting areas guaranteeing privacy and dignity. The JICS also pointed out a major accessibility challenge due to lack of public transportation. Temporary leaves are provided by the law. In practice, they are rarely authorised even for family or compassionate reasons.
People in solitary confinement do not benefit, as per law, from any of these rights.
Children are allowed to stay with their incarcerated mother until the age of two years old. They are held in separate units specially equipped, such as the mother and baby unit of Pollsmoor prison. The prison administration is responsible for the care, food and clothing of those children.
Connection to society
People in prison have access to information and various media
People in prison who have retained their right to vote may vote
The DCS should “encourage prisoners to maintain contact with the community and enable them to stay abreast of current affairs” (Article 13, Correctional Services Act 111 of 1998).
Televisions are the main accessible source of information. They are generally provided by the prison administration free of charge but tend to be poorly maintained. Many persons share the same device and do not have control over how the television is used. People awaiting trial may have access to reading material. People serving sentence under group A security classification, except those in super max facilities, are authorised to possess a newspaper and three periodicals. People in prison can choose from a range of newspapers or magazines to subscribe to.
People awaiting trial and those serving a sentence have the right to vote in national and provincial elections. However, they are excluded from participating in local government elections. Prior to any election, the Independent Electoral Commission can visit correctional centres to register people in prison as voters. Voting stations are installed directly in the facilities. An identity document is required to vote. However, many incarcerated people do not possess such document and therefore cannot exercise their right.