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MBABANNE – Former Hosea MP Mduduzi Basede Mabuza is said to be surviving on peanuts and fruit juice in prison.
Mabuza wants the High Court to order Thailand’s Corrections Department director-general Phindile Dlamini to allow him to prepare and deliver meals from outside the prison. He is serving a 25-year sentence at Matsapha Maximum Prison along with former Ngwenpisi MP Mthandeni Dube, who is serving an 18-year sentence.
The Director General (COMGEN) opposed Barsade’s application, saying records showed that his relatives brought him food from KFC, Nando’s and Galito’s, even though he said doctors had advised him to follow a special diet for his medical condition. The matter was argued yesterday before Justice Titus Mlangeni. Bacede was represented by Mzwandile Masuku and Mhlengi Mabuza, while prosecutor Sibonginkhosi Dlamini represented COMGEN and the Attorney General (AG).
Proportionate
Masuku told the court Correctional Services did not provide most foods that matched the diet prescribed by doctors. “The last time I checked on the applicant (Bassede), he was surviving on peanuts and fruit juice,” Masuku said. While debating the matter, Sibonginkhosi said by law, the Correctional Services Act provides that civil prisoners and unconvicted criminal prisoners, subject to review and other prescribed conditions, shall be allowed to provide for their own care and to purchase food, clothing or other necessities at appropriate times or to obtain these items from private sources.
Judge Mlangeni asked Mabuza if he had been checked and Sibonginkosi said all prisoners were checked when they entered the correctional centre. Sibonginkosi told the court that the correctional centre had a duty to abide by the law and there could be no discrimination. Justice Mlangeni asked if there were any possible exceptional circumstances that would warrant a different approach, or at the latest a sentence. The judge also asked whether, by the nature of the wording, this was an implicit challenge to the provisions of the statute.
“In theory, a criminal could say if he’s capable of taking care of himself for the rest of his life, then why can’t he, without upsetting anyone?”
Sibonginkhosi said he foresees camps being set up inside the prison if Bacede is allowed to eat outside the prison. He said this could open the floodgates. Sibonginkhosi explained that when food is brought in from outside, prisoners must be monitored while they eat and if there is leftover food, the person who brought it must take it away. Sibonginkhosi said monitoring could become very busy if more prisoners were allowed to eat privately. He noted that no one discriminated against Bacede.
The tipping point, the judge said, was that the right to private dining depended on a presumption of inmates’ innocence. Sibonginkhosi said even after conviction, the Department of Corrections did not know how long the prisoner’s sentence would be. He told the court that all prisoners should be treated equally. He also said it was COMGEN’s responsibility to ensure that all prisoners were treated equally and there was no discrimination. Sibonginkhosi said that in the absence of any challenge to the legislation, Bacede’s application could not stand.
Aware
Sibonginkhosi, on the other hand, told the court that the Department of Corrections was not aware of Bacede’s condition or report. He also said that not all food that is supposed to be provided by the Department of Corrections is currently in short supply in the prison. Judge Mlangeni asked Barsade’s lawyer whether his client was willing to participate in formulating a diet that was based on available resources and consistent with a doctor’s prescription. The attorney said Bacede could provide it, but the problem is that some foods that match doctors’ prescriptions cannot be provided in prison. Sibonginkosi said the attorney general would not seek costs considering that Basade is a prisoner. A judgment in the case has yet to be made.
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