Correctional services minister Pieter Groenewald has suggested the revival of corporal punishment for individuals unable to afford bail for minor offences to alleviate overcrowding in prisons.
Groenewald was briefing parliament on the 2025 budget vote and one year of the government of national unity (GNU).
He highlighted there are more than 104,000 inmates in correctional services facilities with limited beds. He said about 60,000 remand detainees are awaiting trial, with about 2,500 unable to afford bail amounts of R1,000 or less.
“If you look at our criminal justice system, we must start a debate to say shouldn't we bring back corporal punishment?” Groenewald said.
“A young person who steals 10 loaves of bread sits in prison and waits about three years for sentencing. Think about whether we should bring back corporal punishment.”
It's not corporal punishment we need; it's community service
— Makashule Gana, Rise Mzansi MP
The suggestion sparked a debate among MPs.
PA MP Marlon Daniels argued the death penalty would be more suitable for those sentenced for murder.
“Corporal punishment is mildly put. Bring back the death penalty. You kill someone, be prepared to be killed.”
Rise Mzansi MP Makashule Gana said alternative rehabilitation methods should be introduced.
“We need to be innovative. It's not corporal punishment we need; it's community service,” Gana said.
“There are many inmates housed in correctional service facilities who shouldn't be there. Let's send them to work in communities for free instead of introducing corporal punishment. Let them clean the streets and pay for the crimes they committed.”
Groenewald has previously said some inmates serving life sentences could be denied parole despite completing all required rehabilitation programmes.
He said: “The parolees I work with are lifers. You can have a parolee or applicant for parole who went through all the rehabilitation courses and the whole process, but then you get a psychologist’s report and a criminologist’s report and in the reports it is determined what is the risk of the applicant reoffending.”
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