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HIV/AIDS is having an impact on the justice system - judge
Siyabonga Mkhwanazi. 31 March 2005. The Star. Republished courtesy of Independent Newspapers (Pty) Ltd.
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Illnesses such as HIV/AIDS have also had an impact on the criminal justice system. This year, there have been four cases of prisoners who died of terminal illness shortly before they were due to be sentenced by the Johannesburg High Court.
Not only are the accused persons dying before their matters are finalised, the disease has had an impact on witnesses as well, the High Court's roll-planner, advocate Zaais van Zyl, admits.
According to Inspecting Judge of Prisons, Judge Hannes Fagan, there has been a dramatic increase in the number of prisoners who die of natural causes, mainly HIV/AIDS-related illnesses, over the past 10 years. In 1995, jails recorded that 52 prisoners had died of natural causes, mainly illness.
Some prisoners do not have access to antiretroviral drugs (ARVs) because there is no roll-out in certain provinces. Even in cases where they have rolled out ARVs, "prisons are at the end of the queue" for the supply of ARVs, argues Judge Fagan.
Gideon Morris, a director in the office of Judge Fagan, says prison deaths in Gauteng, mainly due to HIV/AIDS-related illnesses, have shot up from a mere 52 in 1995 to 577 in 2004.
He says the increase in the number of infections is as a result of new prisoners who bring the disease from outside. Long-term prisoners are less likely to be infected with the disease, Morris argues.
The pandemic afflicting our prisons has been felt across the shores, especially in light of the recent ruling by an Australian court which refused to extradite a South African national. The man, wanted on charges of fraud, had brought an application to the country's court arguing that if he was extradited, it would be like a death sentence. His contention was that if he was kept in a South African jail, he would be raped and therefore contract HIV, and subsequently die. He added that gang members in prison use what they call "slow puncture" to infect inmates refusing to obey them. The court agreed with him and ruled in his favour. |
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