Mthatha’s ‘hell hole’ to release hundreds of prisoners

MTHATHA Medium Prison, the country’s most overcrowded correctional centre in the country, will soon release what may be hundreds of prisoners in an effort to curb overcrowding.

The Eastern Cape’s Deputy Regional Commissioner, Nkosinathi Breakfast, yesterday said they had been talking to the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) and were looking at releasing those involved in minor cases .

“We are supposed to present the names and the list with those kinds of offenders to the NPA with our proposal,” Breakfast said.

He would not say how many prisoners would be on the list, only that minor cases would include those who did not pose a threat to society. However, another source said there may be as many as 500.

“A fight between two people who had a minor misunderstanding between themselves cannot be treated like a murder case,” Breakfast said.

He added that some prisoners were jailed for stealing a chicken, an offence that should be dealt with at community level by tribal courts and other community structures.