Prison team shocked by women held for ‘witches’, petty offences

Johannesburg – Magistrates are wasting taxpayers’ money by sending women to prison for calling others witches or lizards, says parliament’s correctional services committee chairman Dennis Bloem.

After visiting Thohoyandou Prison in Limpopo earlier in the day, Bloem said he had interviewed some of the women and found that many of them were imprisoned for petty offences.

“One woman stole perfume valued at R16. She is now in prison for four months because she could not pay a R2 000 fine.

“Another woman is in prison for six months because she called another woman a witch.

“Another woman is also in prison for six months because she called somebody a lizard. She did not get an option of a fine. She also has a baby.

“Another woman was sentenced to 30 days in prison for stealing soap costing R3,50,” said Bloem.

He said magistrates and judges had to come to terms with the extreme poverty facing some South Africans.

“Magistrates can give alternative sentences. For example this woman who is in for four months, why not say to her instead of going to prison, you must clean the hospital for four months?

“You can also put them under house arrest or sentence them to imprisonment only on weekends.” Bloem said there were between five and seven women in the single cells in the prison.

The medium A section for men was supposed to house 600 inmates. There were 1 729 prisoners.

In the medium B section for men, there was space for 219 inmates, but there were 417 prisoners.

Bloem and his team are inspecting several prisons to determine conditions.

Tomorrow he will hold a meeting with judicial and police officials of Kroonstad in the Free State to discuss the conditions of prisons from Welkom to Viljoenskroon. – Sapa