The Old Prison Museum: From Colonial Age to Apartheid struggle in South Africa
The Old Prison in Pietermaritzburg is testament to the abuse of human rights in South Africa, and has exceptional historical significance for South Africa and its people.
In 2014, Formula D interactive, Cape Town based experience design consultancy, was commissioned by Project Gateway to ensure access to this important heritage site by producing a compelling museum experience. While maintaining the original layout of the prison built in 1862, and its harsh architectural features, Formula D’s design tells the important stories of oppression through the ages with engaging interactive displays and striking graphic designs.
The story’s protagonists include the most famous leaders and historical figures of their times such as King Dinizulu, Kasturba Gandhi, Nelson Mandela, Harry Gwala, Peter Brown, and A.S. Chetty, all of which had been incarcerated at the Pietermaritzburg Prison.
As visitors follow 132 years of prison history they learn how one of South Africa’s oldest jails was instrumental in enforcing the laws and ideologies of those in power. From the second half of the 19th century, the British used Pietermaritzburg prison to administer colonial rule and pressure indigenous people into wage labour. In the early 20th century, many Indian immigrants were incarcerated at the Old Prison as the government hoped it could silence protests against oppressive laws. Under Apartheid rule political opposition parties were banned, and its leaders criminalised, many of whom were detained in Pietermaritzburg. The exhibition closes with the first democratic elections in 1994, encouraging visitors to think about and discuss what role prisons should play in South Africa’s new democratic society.
To make this rich historical content accessible and appealing to a broad target audience, including youth and school groups, Formula D interactive implemented multimedia technology throughout the museum.
One of the main attractions is an interactive dialogue with one of the most famous prisoners, King Dinizulu kaCetshwayo. Impersonated by an actor and brought to life on a high definition display, Dinizulu is shown at his trial for high treason at the beginning of the 20th century. As visitors select from a list of the actual accusations, the character impersonation responds accordingly.
In the Satyagraha movement section of the exhibition, a large interactive timeline table invites multiple users to simultaneously explore the history of Mahatma Gandhi and the events of the Satyagraha movement.
In the Apartheid era section, biographies and political associations of prisoners can be explored through interactive cue cards. When these cards are laid upon a table’s glass surface, related content is projected onto the table. Finally, to encourage visitors to think critically about the role of prisons today, Formula D designed the “freedom game”, asking difficult questions about human rights, freedom and security. By storing visitor feedback on a local database, the app allows visitors to compare their opinions to that of past visitors. The permanent exhibition is an important destination on KZN’s freedom route, a round trip of sites relevant to the struggle for freedom. It attracts international tourists and local school groups alike and strengthens Pietermaritzburg’s attractiveness as a tourism destination. Built on the success of the exhibition, Project Gateway now plans to build a resource centre on the first floor of the prison block, allowing visitors an in depth look at some of the fascinating history that lies within the prison walls.
New Prison in Pietermaritzburg raided by police.
A raid at Pietermaritzburg’s New Prison on Sunday night.
What happened to the garden city of Pietermaritzburg, Kwazulu Natal, South Africa
This is so sad.....
G4S prison in South Africa 'torturing inmates'
G4S prison in South Africa 'torturing inmates'
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Footage from Mangaung Correctional Centre near Bloemfontein, South Africa, shows G4S prison workers apparently administering anti-psychotic drugs to a patient illegally. Another prisoner shows injuries he says were given by the prison's emergency security team. Allegations of torutre, including electrocuting inmates, have been denied by G4SRead the story: G4S-run prison in South Africa investigated over abuse claims
Numbers Gang South Africa Prison Documentary
Numbers Gang South Africa Prison Documentary
The Numbers Gang (or the Numbers Gangs and associated with different numbers in different prisons is a prison gang with one of the most fearsome reputations in South Africa. They are known to operate primarily in the Western Cape prison of Pollsmoor, however it is thought that they control most of the South African prisons
Although the origins of the gang remain sketchy at best, the story of Nongoloza and Ngeleketshane is a story that has been consistently passed over for years.[4]
There was a man named Po,[5] who was said to embody the interests of all black people. Po noticed that young men left their homelands and went to the mines, never to return. He then wondered why this was the case, and ventured off to the mines to find out why. When he saw how they lived and how they were treated, Po became upset. He went off to his cave near Pietermaritzburg and pondered, finally coming to the decision that deliverance of these young men was necessary.
One day Po spotted a young Zulu man who identified himself as Nongoloza who said he was on his way to the mines to look for work. Po then warns the young man of the conditions in the mines, telling him they will ultimately lead to his demise. Po then persuades Nongoloza to join him in his crusade against white oppression. Nongoloza agrees to this and joins the wise man in his cave.
The next day another young man approaches. Po greets the young man who introduces himself as Ngeleketshane, a member of the Pondo tribe. He too agrees to join Po.
Po eventually recruits 15 young men. He teaches them a secret language and advances their skills in the art of highway robbery. The men succeed in robbing travellers and colonial outposts of their goods. The gang chooses to change their habits to avoid being caught. They move from cave to cave and split themselves into two groups: Ngeleketshane with his seven men who rob by the day, and Nongoloza and his six men who rob by night.
Po orders the two men to carve their daily outlaw activities on a nearby rock which is to serve as a diary. Po then orders the two men to visit a farm, owned by a Mr. Rabie, and to buy one of his bulls called Rooiland (Red Earth). Mr. Rabie is suspicious, and he refuses to sell the two men the bull. The two youths refuse to leave without carrying out their order, and proceed to stab the farmer with bayonets and then steal the bull.
A huge feast takes place at the cave between the gangsters and Po carefully oversees the slaughter and dismembering of the bull. Po tells his two apprentices to fill one of the bull's horns with its blood and gall and to each take a drink of it. Ngeleketshane sips the mixture and immediately spits it out saying that it will poison him. Nongoloza drinks from the horn without flinching. According to Nongoloza's supporters this proves Ngeleketshane's cowardice, while according to Ngeleketshane's supporters this proves that Nongoloza is an evil muti man (evil potion man).
Po then orders the men to take the hide of the bull and press it onto the diary rock until the words have been transferred from the rock to the hide. With two copies of the gang's way, Po explains the bandits must follow the rules as they have been set out from the beginning. The two items are divided between the two men. Nongoloza receives the hide and Ngeleketshane receives the rock. The two are instructed to carry them wherever they go. The rock, however, proves to be too awkward to carry and one day it is accidentally dropped down a hill. It splits into two pieces, one of which falls into a river. This leaves Ngeleketshane's gang with only half of the gang's laws.
The first conflict of the two gangs takes place because of this incident. The two gangs decide to embark on a joint expedition. Nongoloza says he is sick and decides to stay behind. He asks one of Ngeleketshane's soldiers, Magubane, to stay behind. Upon returning Ngeleketshane finds Nongoloza engaged in homosexual acts with Magubane. Enraged, Kilkijan challenges Nongoloza to a fight. Nongoloza replies that according to the hide sex between bandits is allowed as to avoid contact with women.[6] Kilkijan retaliates by saying that he does not trust Nongoloza, believing he added this law to the hide after half his rock went missing. The two men commence fighting until they are both drenched in blood, and Po arrives to intervene.
Po listens to both men's sides of the story. He then tells Kilkijan to travel to the mines to see if men were engaging in sex with one another. Kilkijan finds that this does indeed take place, but opinions remained divided as to whether this justified Nongoloza's act. This was to become the pivotal disagreement between the two gangs that persist to this day. Po had informed the men that at the entrance of his cave was an old assegai, and if the two men found the tip of the assegai rusted
Thirteen Correctional Services officials face suspension
Thirteen Correctional Services officers are facing suspension for alleged breach of security at Johannesburg's Medium B Prison.
This after they allegedly brought female strippers to entertain prisoners at the notorious Sun City prison. Explicit photos of strippers inside prison walls went viral over the weekend. This was during a youth day event to commemorate the youth month.
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Meet South Africa’s Most Violent GANGs [26s, 27s, 28s]
The Numbers Gang is a prison gang with one of the most fearsome reputations in South Africa. They are known to operate primarily in the Western Cape prison of Pollsmoor, however it is believed that they control most of South African prisons.
Prison Overcrowding
The situation inside Westville prison, Durban, South Africa.
Inside Oscar Pretorius' Prison Cell
Now, for the first time, see where Oscar Pistorius spent the year in jail as Sky News heads into the Kgosi Mampuru II prison.
10 Worst Prisons In History
How far should you go to keep dangerous criminals in check?
From inmates turning to cannibalism, to the modern day dungeon that practices genital electrocution. AllTime10s reveals the worst prisons of all time and their horrific practices.
What did you think of 10 Worst Prisons? Let us know in the comments.
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South african super maximu prison
Ebongweni Correctional Centre in Kokstad KwaZulu-Natal is South Africa’s most secure prison.It’s the country’s only super-maximum jail, housing hardcore criminals.
Prison community in South Africa
Жизнь сообщества заключенных в одной из тюрем ЮАР
Lock down: Inside Leeuwkop maximum security prison
Take a tour with EWN as we go inside one of Johannesburg's maximum security facilities and speak to inmates Kobus Pretorius and Nhlanhla Mlambo on their life behind bars.
MC Tshatha Live @ Westville Prison
Inside South Africas Worst Prison Numbers Gang Hell On Earth Documentary HD
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Pollsmoor Prison, officially, Pollsmoor Maximum Security Prison is a prison in the Cape Town suburb of Tokai in South Africa. Nelson Mandela was one of the most famous people imprisoned there. He described Pollsmoor Prison as the truth of Oscar Wilde's haunting line about the tent of blue that prisoners call the sky.[1]
Pollsmoor is a maximum security prison with little means in the way of escape. Some of South Africa's most dangerous criminals are held in Pollsmoor Prison. The prison has a staff of 1,278 and the capacity to accommodate 4,336 offenders, but the current inmate population is over 7,000 (a figure which fluctuates daily).
Marlene Lehnberg, known as The Scissor Murderess served her sentence in Pollsmoor but was paroled in 1986. Walter Sisulu and Ahmed Kathrada, both anti-apartheid activists, were also incarcerated at Pollsmoor. Alan Boesak served his prison term here after he was convicted of fraud in 2000.
#johnmongrel #pollsmoor #thenumbersgang #26s #27s #28s #thegenral #johnmongral #capetown #southafricasworstprison #hellonearth #prisondocumetary
KZN DCS suspended 8 prison warders
Eight prison warders have been suspended by the KwaZulu-Natal Department of Correctional Services after the escape of three inmates from Dundee prison. The escapees held up a warder with a gun which had allegedly been smuggled into the prison.
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PRISON FUGITIVE RE-ARRESTED IN DURBAN
An awaiting trial prisoner who escaped from the Westville prison in Durban two months ago, using another prisoner’s particulars was re-arrested in Umbilo on Monday. The 27- year-old suspect, was in custody for a murder case that was reported at the Marianhill police station in March this year. On August 15th, the prisoner was reportedly awaiting trial at Westville prison when he allegedly used another prisoner’s particulars to escape. Here’s more from KZN
Prison party
South African prison a happy place