Items filtered by date: Tuesday, 06 May 2025
Growing calls for stronger Parliamentary oversight of prisons in Southern Africa
By Moses Magadza in Johannesburg, South Africa
A joint sitting of five standing committees of the SADC Parliamentary Forum began in Johannesburg South Africa on Thursday with the Secretary General of the SADC PF, Ms. Boemo Sekgoma, calling for enhanced parliamentary oversight of prisons across the Southern African region.
The Joint Session follows separate standing committee meetings that took place on Wednesday and is deliberating on a proposed Model Law on Prison Oversight to be developed by the SADC PF with the financial support of Sweden.
Addressing delegates at the opening of the two-day session, Ms. Sekgoma stated that the state of prison systems reflects the health of democracy and the extent to which nations uphold human rights and justice.
SADC PF Committee proposes bold recommendations on prison oversight
By Moses Magadza in Johannesburg, South Africa
A one-day meeting of the SADC Parliamentary Forum’s Standing Committee on Human and Social Development and Special Programmes (HSDSP) ended in Johannesburg on Wednesday with strong calls for systemic reform, strengthened oversight, and improved healthcare in prisons across the region.
The committee (one of five standing committees of the SADC PF that met separately on Wednesday ahead of a joint session scheduled for 24 April 2025) engaged in robust deliberations informed by expert presentations and video testimonies by regional judges who had undertaken prison visits. The judges described alarming conditions marked by overcrowding, poor sanitation, and the incarceration of minor offenders alongside hardened criminals.