Meyiwa accused complain of solitary confinement, bad conditions at C-Max

Mthobisi Prince Mncube and Fisokuhle Ntuli have turned to the Pretoria high court on an urgent basis, seeking to be removed from solitary confinement with immediate effect.

This is pending their sought order to declare the decision to detain them in C-Max prison for continuous years inconsistent with the constitution.

There are seven respondents listed, including the minister of correctional services, the national commissioner, the area commissioner of Kgosi Mampuru Correctional Services, the head of Kgosi Mampuru Correctional Services, and the minister of justice and constitutional development, among others.

Mncube, who is the first applicant, said he has been incarcerated in the maximum security C-Max section of Kgosi Mampuru Correctional Centre in Pretoria since December 4 2020.

Mcube said he suffered a complete breakdown on October 7 2024 since his circumstances became untenable. 

He said in his affidavit: “I am unable to concentrate and severely stressed, I have feelings of fear and hopelessness and at times I am unable to distinguish day from night.”

Mncube said his continued incarceration in solitary confinement does not only affect his right to a fair trial but also affects the other co-accuseds' right to a fair trial.

He said this is since his lawyer, Charles Mnisi, on October 7 requested a stay of the proceedings, alternatively, a separation of trials to enable him to seek redress of his plight in removing him from solitary confinement. 

“Judge Ratha Mokgoatlheng informed us that the court cannot accommodate my request and advised that I should institute a substantive urgent application,” Mncube said. 

Mncube said he experiences ongoing and drastic harm every day.

“I am being held in a single cell for more than 22 hours a day. This amounts to solitary confinement, as expounded hereunder. Being detained in prolonged and indefinite solitary confinement amounts to torture or cruel inhuman and or degrading punishment,” he said.

Mncube said he could not obtain relief in an ordinary course as the case would be heard in about 18 months if the application was to be heard in the timeline envisaged in the uniform rules of court.

“This will have a substantial impact on my right to a fair trial.”

He said his complaint and plea for assistance is not about mere discomfort or inconvenience.

“I am unable to concentrate and struggle with insomnia, tiredness, feelings of hopelessness and irritation. I never experienced these physical and psychological symptoms before my solitary confinement. I have now reached the point where the situation became unbearable.”

“I am locked up alone in a 2m by 2.5m cell for more than 22 hours a day, without stimulation or meaningful human contact,” he said.

He complained that he was not allowed access to the outside world. 

“I have no access to newspapers, books, radio, television nor receive any assistance to apply for education and is denied meaningful interaction with people. For 23 hours a day I am confined to a cell and sometimes only allowed one hour to exercise in a cage in a partially covered courtyard without any interaction with people. Though we are permitted to exercise an hour a day it is regarded as privilege and is infrequent and sometimes refused when requested.”

He said he is allowed to shower in a cage for no longer than two minutes, with only cold water, irrespective if it is winter or summer.

Further, he said, he sleeps on a sparse sponge mattress that rests on a concrete table and eats alone in his cell.

“I am only allowed telephonic contact with a family member for a maximum of 10 minutes, two times a month. I am only permitted to wear a detainee jumpsuit. The lightning in my cell is bright and harsh and causes migraines and feelings of disorientation which worsens my feelings of anxiety.

“Consultation with my legal representative is limited to an hour only two times a month, which is totally inadequate considering the complexity of the trial, expert witnesses and being ambushed by the state in supplementing their case on numerous instances. Family and friends are permitted to visit me only two times a month for a duration not exceeding 30 minutes. These are non-contact visits and preclude provision of food, vitamins or medication,” he said.

Mncube said all consultations and conversations take place over a telephone, behind a panel of double-glazed glass, where the phones often malfunction and take place within earshot of several officials and is therefore not confidential.

“I lost count of days and nights and am unable to concentrate during court proceedings and find it increasingly difficult to provide my legal representative with any meaningful instructions. To my knowledge, the centre intends to keep me in my cell indefinitely since a period of almost four years already passed. I have seen other offenders in C-Max come and go since 2020 while I am being kept in solitary confinement,” he said.

Mncube is also asking the court for an opportunity to report incidents of electrical torture and physical assaults he said he suffered from police upon his arrest.

He said after being told by judge Tshifhiwa Maumela to report the matter to the police, he has not been afforded the opportunity to. Nor did any officer visit him to obtain a statement.

Mncube said on March 25, his lawyer, Mnisi, sent correspondence to the head of Kgosi Mampuru requesting that he be moved from solitary confinement.

However, he said, on April 9 he received a response in which the head of centre justified the solitary confinement, stating that Mncube was a high-risk offender involved in a high-profile matter.

“Being a high-risk offender involved in a high-profile matter does not justify my solitary confinement for four years. I am not a danger to other inmates, I did not escape or endeavour to escape, nor facilitated another inmate's escape,” he said.

Ntuli said has been incarcerated in solitary confinement since March 2022.

He was initially in solitary confinement at Leeuwkop prison around March 2022 and was transferred to C-Max on October 5 2023.

“Inmates are subjected to electrical shocks and assaults in adjacent cells by prison officials. The offenders' screaming and crying are unbearable,” he said.

He said he asked to be moved from solitary confinement and his legal representative, Zandile Mshololo, also addressed his request to the centre. 

After his counsel's request, he said, he was moved to another cell. However, his circumstances remained the same.

“I am unable to sleep since I fear that I may also be subjected to physical torture. My incarceration amounts to solitary confinement and is evidently used as a form of punishment and disciplinary measures, contrary to the provisions of section 9(1)(b) CPA.

“I am in solitary confinement since March 2022, a period of more than two years. I find it increasingly difficult to concentrate during court proceedings. The first applicant's emotional breakdown on October 7 2024 exasperated various feelings of stress and fear,” Ntuli said.

Ntuli said his continued incarceration in isolation amounts to an infringement of his human dignity.

In the answering affidavit, the acting head of C-Max on behalf of the six respondents denied that Mncube had been unconstitutionally incarcerated in C-Max.

He said Mncube has lawfully been incarcerated given that he was classified as a high risk and high-profile inmate on admission at Johannesburg medium B prison after he was sentenced to 30 years for murder.

Further, he said Ntuli was transferred to C-Max from Leeuwkop after being found in possession of contraband and two cellphones with another inmate.

“The cellphones were used by the second applicant and other inmates in detention to defraud a member of the public,” said the acting head of C-Max.

He denied that Mncube and Ntuli had been in isolation or segregation and he said: “C-Max consists of only single cell units. the applicants are housed in single cell units without loss of amenities.”

Mncube and Ntuli had complained in court in winter that they had no hot water to bath.

According to ballistic expert Col Chris Mangena, testifying at the trial, the bullet found on the scene of the murder matched a gun belonging to Mncube.

Mncube has also been fingered as the deadlocked intruder with pictures extracted from his phone proving that he had dreadlocks around the period Meyiwa was fatally shot.

Ntuli was linked to the getaway car driven on the night Meyiwa was killed.

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