Court smokes out jail 'rokers'

2004-09-17 06:55

Philip de Bruin

Cape Town - After a ground-breaking settlement, which was made an order of court by the labour court, tens of thousands of prisoners in jails all over South Africa will be be allowed to light up only in designated smoking areas from now on.

The settlement and resultant court order imposes a heavy burden on the correctional services department, which will have to establish legal designated smoking areas for prisoners (and warders) in all South Africa's jails.

Secondly, smokers in all jails will have to be informed of the dangers of smoking and prominent notices warning against the hazards of the habit will have to be displayed.

The ruling applies specifically to Pollsmoor Prison near Cape Town but will, in practice, be enforceable in all South African jails.

The ruling follows a suit brought by a correctional services employee Rosemary Fielies.

She petitioned the labour court after she repeatedly had asked smokers in jails not to smoke inside.

Only as allowed by law

Fielies said in affidavits she was attacked verbally and even physically after such requests to smokers.

Correctional services now has to make sure smoking in jails will be allowed only in terms of the smoking laws, in future.

One of the provisions of the settlement order is that correctional services will take all possible steps to ensure that management, officials, personnel, workers and prisoners at Pollsmoor (and, by implication, all jails) comply with existing legislation dealing with smoking inside buildings.

Fielies's lawyer, Grant Marinus, said one of the biggest challenges facing correctional services would be to convince prisoners to abide by the smoking rules and to provide designated areas where smokers would be allowed to smoke without breaking the law.

- Beeld