The Commission’s Acting Provincial Manager in the Free State, Shirley Mlombo, told OFM News the road shows served as a platform to promote awareness on issues relating to access to justice and access to information.

She says they also registered complaints from detainees during their visit.

 “People are usually expected to come to us. With the roadshow, we are taking the road show to the people. The roadshows were a platform for the people we interact with to report cases of violations of their rights and issues of concern and for us to really engage with those concerns. The issues that were raised with our interactions with the inmates at the Brandfort Correctional Centre were issues around a lack of adequate food at the centre and a lack of hot water in some sections of the centre. There were reports of assault and the abuse of power by wardens and a lack of response from offices such as Legal Aid and offices such as the office of the inspecting judge. Inmates are telling us they’ve been reporting cases of violations to the institutions and there has been no response,” she says.

Mlombo says they will follow up on the matters with the institutions involved from which they will formulate a way in which to deal with the complaints.

The commission has also visited the communities of Winburg and Theunissen on Tuesday and Wednesday respectively.

The road shows had the theme, “Amplifying human rights education in rural and farming communities”.


Source: OFM News