Five current and former inmates at Leeuwkop Maximum Correctional Centre suing the department for alleged tortured by prison officials were back in the Gauteng Hight Court (Johannesburg) yesterday when they claimed that in August 2014 they sustained injuries at the hands of the officials while they were inmates at Leeuwkop.

According to a Cape Times report, the prisoners said they were brutally tortured, including being stripped naked and electrocuted under water.

They also alleged that they were forced to squat, defecate and do handstands for prolonged periods of time.

They said dogs were set upon them, and they were instructed to lie down while an official walked on their necks and electrocuted their backs.

Four of the five inmates said they were unlawfully placed in solitary confinement, shackled and left without any bedding or medical treatment for the injuries they sustained.

In 2015, the plaintiffs instituted action against the Minister of Justice & Correctional Services in his capacity as the employer of prison officials at Leeuwkop, for the extensive physical and psychological injuries and suffering caused by the alleged torture.

Lawyers for Human Rights said this matter involved consideration of intentional state conduct regarding the elements of the crime of torture under the Prevention of Torture of Persons Act, and was the first type of case of this nature heard in local courts.

‘A successful outcome will be precedent setting. It requires the court to consider South Africa's international treaty obligations that we are obliged to uphold in respect of protection against torture,’ it said.

The trial started in 2019, but was delayed multiple times during the Covid-19 pandemic.

Full Cape Times report