Break The Chains
Statement
The Break The Chains Campaign is circulating a letter written by prison inmates that was originally written for publication as a letter to the editor of the Times of Swaziland, the kingdom’s only independent daily newspaper.
The editor decided not to publish it.
The letter was passed on to Break The Chains, which has published it widely on the Internet.
Open Letter to the Editor of the Times of Swaziland
From: Concerned Inmates at Matsapha Central Prison
(Please Mr Editor publish this sensitive letter)
When a country stops emotions against its own citizens who had happened to brake the law called inmates. In fact felt compelled to respond or react to the false information about the country's non-existent peace but there is silence abundance in this hell on earth called Swaziland.
May i kindly draw the attention of the public about the very severe conditions one is expected to live under once you are victim of being an inmate in our own country. This country has adopted slogan of the book called Animal Farm which i read while i was a student before i was a victim of un-employment. and we all tend to crime not knowing that we are inviting internal death.
Pls, can anyone reply my undderlisted questions with due respect:
I am humbly hereby forced to let the world know what is happening behind the scence of our prisons which are suppossed to be correctional services. Now i wonder whether does our country's courts ever consider introduction of the following programmes; parole, community services sentences, trained ex-convicts who have gone through rehabilitation processes, proper wellfare for human kind. When will the country respect its constitution?
I was always wondering how and when our Law Society shall voice out our crys and all the courts are not fair at all and are freely run or managed. When shall our correctional HIV/AIDS Policy which does not exist in reality as a lot of inmates are dying like flys withou proper treatment? We are starving here whereas a lot of people out there are stealing millions of Emalangeni, now the country does not have money or the econmy is grounded. Who are the calprits? Now is time for change, lets join hands in building the economy.
Infact these institutions need intensive investigation urgently before the current number of inmates who are sentenced before their trials since the "Justice System" is remote contrled somewhere. A s such there are no fair trial in the country's courts, e.g., even the Stay Away by the learned friends can attest as evident prove beyond reasonable doubts. Reference to some of the list of our brothers who happened to be on the wrong side of the law for variuos criminal deeds, of which some are victims of being povery stricken. Corruption is at its highest degree, even the constitutional forum like the Anti-Corruption Unit will not win, e.g., look how many cases had been tried since its formation.
This a prison of death, never ever be fooled by those who bad mouth us as inmates who are being fed by their relatives aas there is non-tax paying store inside who charges oue relative exhaubitant prices (they rake 300% profits) e.g., Peterstyvesant 20 = E28-00, shoe polish 50ml = E7.50, Rama 250g =E10.50, Clere coco-butter lotion 400ml E18.50, Vasseline 250ml= E18.50, Milk umcenge 1L = E18.50, cigarette per loose = E2.50, Colgate 100ml = E15.00 and 50ml = E8.90, Apples E1.20 each.
I would also like to refer to the menu:
We are fed beans and porridge, sour soft porridge, 4 thin and dry slices of bread, small pieces of chicken with one cup (250ml), boiled cabbage and 250ml cup.
All in all the list of this kind cannot keep ill inmates who are also very sick with high rate of HIV/AIDS pandemic, so the only justice saviour by the name Correctional Commissioner was trying to address in good faith, but Dlamini a daughter of a certain prince who happens to be a chief is working against his efforts of improving awareness amongst our peer inmates who show appreciation for very kind gesture of hard working commissioner Mr M Ntshangase who reinstated ADVEB trying to correct inmates which was not the case under the former one Mr Useless Mnguni, who never bothered at all to even come and say hi deadly criminals for the past 7 to 9 years. I have save under his Admin (non-existent).
The current commissioner is more visional, look, since inception he has built schools for offenders: a motive to instill productivity instead of being criminals. Has introduced NGOs like PSI Swaziland, AMICAL, ICAP who have trained more inmates on various subjects under healthcare, but all will be in vain because of the said devil with horns Takhona Motsa nee Dlamini.
The commissioner has changed the former doctor of correctional deed removed him called Dr Khayam who act as a hangman in white coat pretending to be a doctor
The only hope now rests entirely with help before most inmates, some of which are innocent, end up being killed. Everything under the administration of this senior nurse who does not care about our welfare she had even stopped most inmates who had all this years accessing antiretroviral drugs from various health facilities like Mbabane government hospital and Manzini RFM hospital, etc.
Some were on ARVs even before they get into the hell disguising as a correctional yet still controlled like a prison. We live under harsh conditions, starved and told the economy is dry. Why can't we be given options of fine which shall boost the dry spell economy. They say on each prisoner they spend E175.00 per day, but we eat the very same porridge, boiled cabbage, beans. Moreso, all this is produced by our sweat and toil from 5am up until 3.30pm doing hard labour, being called all sorts of names by the warders who are trained as under the prison era.
The VCT here is non-functional at all, it serves the interests of the warders and thei families who recieve best service at our expense. May you refer copy of the letter to the Commissioner of Human Rights in Swaziland, chairman, Mr Sabelo Masuku. Let him know about these ills and rotten conditions of prison walls without showeers, toilet seats, rotten bungbeds. Urge their office to stage an investigation. There is n provision of toiletories, no earning schemes aas per the procedure of 25c a day, even working hours are extended from between 5.30 to 3.30, sometimes its even worse.
The Chief Justicce employed that fellow countryman to head the anticorruption unit, no one arrested at all. Look at the nonstarter cases, e.g., E50m suspects, Embassy Village land worth E30m, E34m for non existent King's jet, Lutfo and companny's scam, and land sell at no value or fee by our PM and company.
Hey, lets forget it man, nothing shall ever make sense in this country for free for thy closer thee amen and war unto thou who were born without blue blood connection. We shall rott in jail for out misfortune of being born poor. Now they want to give the only land of our forefathers as surity.
Initialy they started by inviting these tourists refered to as investers, e.g. Taiwaneese, Arabs and manymore, who were told about cheap labour or slaves who eat from hand to mouth. Now even the pandemoc shall always with this continued violation of human rights in thhis farm called SD. Inside and outside, there are innocent souls swept away by the deadly diseases like HIV/AIDS, TB and MRDTB.
Here is a list of death toll ever since i was arrested, that is before the falsely adopted constitution in the late 1990s till now: Dolobha Manzini, Bonganni Sithole, Wonder Zwane, Bongani Buthelezi, Raymond Matimba, Mandla Dlamini (of Hhohho area), the list is endless.
Now, what is the use of Tinkhundla in this regard? When are we going to implement the will of the nation listed under chapter 4 of the Kingdom's Supreme Law? e.g section 16, 17, 19 and 22, that talks about the right to liberty, life, protection from inhuman or degrading treatment and fair hearing.
This includes the right to personal confidentiality eg disclosure of one's status of HIV/AIDS. HIV prevalance is high amongst inmates, rough estimate is around 50-200 are on AART and those about to start ART but living positve life.
They are without balanced to sustain the various drugs which are even scarce to get: all this rests on entirely on the inefficiency of the Staff Nurse Takhona Motsa who is a red devil living in Mtsapha Prison Hell. Infact she is very influential when it comes to who must live or die. They even doom the world by saying there is VCT and provision of drugs: this is a slaughter house, an abartour indeed. Takhona has turned that brothel or sorce of herself and smuggles out the drugs destined for inmates.
