Only in South Africa - prisoners protesting about being moved to another jail. Their bare-bottomed cheek has paid off. The minister will take time off from his busy schedule to ogle (sorry that should read 'see') them.
A group of about 50 women in the Mthatha prison has revived a unique tradition by staging a naked protest, or setshwetla, against plans to move them to Queenstown.
The prison chief, commissioner Linda Mti, said the and correctional services minister Ngconde Balfour would address the women at the Mthatha prison on Friday.
"These women decided to get undressed as soon as we tried to move them to Queenstown to make room for men in the maximum security prison," said Mti. "It caused a lot of drama, because we were not expecting it. We hope the minister can use his persuasive powers to get them to move to Queenstown," she said.
Golden Miles Bhudu, president of the South African Prisoner's Organisation for Human Rights (Sapohr) said he was "very excited" about the women's protest action, because it was something prisoners used in the eighties to protest against the apartheid system.
He said women started with the protest at the end of last week, but since Friday also decided to go on a hunger strike.
The prisoners' transfer to Queenstown, about 250km from Mthatha, would make it difficult for their families to visit them.
A local resident said there was no public transport between the two towns and one had to take three different taxis to travel between them. It apparently also made it difficult for warders as trial awaiting prisoners had to be transported to Mthatha for their court cases.
Sapohr and the warders said the transfer had been decided on without consulting those involved.
A group of about 50 women in the Mthatha prison has revived a unique tradition by staging a naked protest, or setshwetla, against plans to move them to Queenstown.
The prison chief, commissioner Linda Mti, said the and correctional services minister Ngconde Balfour would address the women at the Mthatha prison on Friday.
"These women decided to get undressed as soon as we tried to move them to Queenstown to make room for men in the maximum security prison," said Mti. "It caused a lot of drama, because we were not expecting it. We hope the minister can use his persuasive powers to get them to move to Queenstown," she said.
Golden Miles Bhudu, president of the South African Prisoner's Organisation for Human Rights (Sapohr) said he was "very excited" about the women's protest action, because it was something prisoners used in the eighties to protest against the apartheid system.
He said women started with the protest at the end of last week, but since Friday also decided to go on a hunger strike.
The prisoners' transfer to Queenstown, about 250km from Mthatha, would make it difficult for their families to visit them.
A local resident said there was no public transport between the two towns and one had to take three different taxis to travel between them. It apparently also made it difficult for warders as trial awaiting prisoners had to be transported to Mthatha for their court cases.
Sapohr and the warders said the transfer had been decided on without consulting those involved.
source : http://zacorrect.blogspot.com
