Edwin Cameron appointed as new champion for prisoners

25 Oct 2019

‘The appointment comes at an important moment when our country faces high levels of crime, particularly gender-based violence, and the public’s attention has been drawn to the failings of the criminal justice system.’

President Cyril Ramaphosa has appointed recently retired Constitutional Court Justice Edwin Cameron as the inspecting judge of the Judicial Inspectorate for Correctional Services (JICS) for a three-year term with effect from 1 January 2020.

Cameron’s appointment comes not long after a judgment ordering that the JICS be given proper independence from the Department of Correctional Services. This, together with the appointment of Cameron is good news for the rights of prisoners. Cameron’s appointment in the wake of the earlier judgment means it will be more possible for the JICS and the inspecting judge to make an impact and ensure that prisoner’s constitutional rights are respected.

Ramaphosa has also in terms of Section 86(1)(b) reappointed the current inspecting judge, Justice Johann van der Westhuizen, for a period of three months, with immediate effect, until 31 December 2019. Justice Van der Westhuizen is also a retired judge of the Constitutional Court.

The JICS is the primary body tasked with monitoring and oversight of South Africa’s correctional system and its CEO reports to the inspecting judge. In particular, JICS’ mandate includes inspecting, monitoring and reporting on the treatment of inmates and the conditions of correctional centres. The inspecting judge is appointed as head of JICS although he or she is not employed by the Department of Correctional Service.

Sonke Gender Justice has done a lot of work around the human rights of prisoners. Prisons operate largely outside the public eye and are referred to as “closed institutions” due to the difficulty of accessibility. Sonke is clear that independent prison oversight is vital to the protection of inmates’ human rights because:

Regular monitoring acts as a preventative measure against human rights abuses in prisons;

Regular reporting allows prison and inmates’ issues to reach the public; and

The combination of monitoring and reporting prompts governmental accountability and action.

The JICS’s areas of focus include the prison population and the rate of overcrowding, the structure and maintenance of the prison facilities, the healthcare and rehabilitation services for inmates, and services for mentally ill state patients.

Alternatives to harsh prison conditions and minimum sentences might seem like a counter-intuitive solution to deal with the shocking dissolution of law enforcement in South Africa.

But this is exactly what Cameron has suggested we do to deal with abysmal conviction rates as low as 2% for serious crimes.

Cameron delivered his 2019 Rabinowitz Lecture at the University of Cape Town’s Faculty of Law on 13 September 2019 and said urgent debate was required about reforming the country’s “fatally flawed and defective criminal justice system”.

The “institutional disintegration” of law enforcement, he said, was a result of “criminal syndicates taking over the government and institutions, at the very highest level”.

Cameron will have his hands full. The outgoing inspecting judge, Justice Johann van der Westhuizen, shared a number of “theme issues” with the parliamentary portfolio committee on 9 October this year. These included overcrowding in prisons, the state of some facilities, allegations of corruption, allegations of a breakdown between the departments of Correctional Services and Public Works and the lawfulness of the supermax prisons.

Cameron has been particularly active in championing the cause for fair and dignified treatment of prisoners within the correctional services system. In 2015, during his ConCourt tenure, Cameron released a report on the “sickening” conditions of Pollsmoor Remand Detention Facility and Pollsmoor Women’s Correctional Centre.

His report found, “The extent of overcrowding, unsanitary conditions, sickness, emaciated physical appearance of the detainees, and overall deplorable living conditions were profoundly disturbing.”

In September 2019, Judge Nolwazi Boqwana’s JICS judgment gave Parliament two years to amend unconstitutional provisions in the Correctional Services Act regarding the independence of the prisons inspectorate. She said the importance of the inspectorate (JICS) cannot be understated and that it was there to safeguard vulnerable inmates.

SECTION27 welcomed the appointment of Cameron:

“Justice Cameron is a champion for human rights and has previously played an important role in highlighting the conditions of overcrowding, poor conditions and ill treatment of inmates at prisons such as Pollsmoor.

“The appointment comes at an important moment when our country faces high levels of crime, particularly gender-based violence, and the public’s attention has been drawn to the failings of the criminal justice system. The conditions in prisons and the treatment of prisoners must be in line with the Constitution and must be conducive to rehabilitation if imprisonment is to serve its purpose.

“Justice Cameron will no doubt continue to advance dignity and equal treatment for all, within the correctional system, and beyond,” SECTION27 said. MC

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