Wrongfully Convicted in South Africa Forced to Wear Electronic Monitors after Release

I’ve blogged previously about the Wits Justice Project in South Africa and its first big win last year, where two of their innocence clients were released after 19 years in prison.  They were released on parole rather than exonerated (even though the evidence of innocence was clear), were promised when released that the conditions of parole would be soon removed.  Now, however, they are being forced into electronic monitoring pursuant to a new law in South Africa that requires all parolees of certain crimes to be monitored.   Here is a letter from one of the wrongfully convicted to a government official complaining of this treatment:

Dear Mr. Nyambi

Kindly be informed that this morning we were called by the
Community Corrections office only to be told that next week Tuesday ( 13 March 2012 ) we’re going to be taken to Bloemfontein where we’re going to be tagged electronically and this is final.

Furthermore we were told to be ready on that particular time to be transported to Bloemfontein for this electronic tagging process to take place.

I personally take this as further humiliation and a severe torture, which is unnecessary taking into account all the suffering that one went through. I truly cannot believe that this action is taken by our democratic government. I hoped that our government t was going to be sympathetic towards but we experience further humiliation and torture and exclusion from human rights as if those rights are not enshrined in our Constitution.

I call upon your speedy intervention with the office of the Minister of Correctional Services to stop this humiliation and torture on us.

Mr. Nyambi, I don’t have words to explain how I feel right now. I must say that I am really shocked [and sad] about the whole episode.

I want to believe that you’re going to regard this as an urgent matter that needs speedy attention because I am paralyzed spiritually and calling for your urgent assistance ….

I don’t want to begin to think that our invitation to National Parliament last year April after our release was an April fools’ joke. I want to remain confident that you did a right thing as a committee.

Yours truly

Fusi Simon Mofokeng

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