Appalling prison conditions behind prison breaks  

…hunger, lack of medical services, unhygienic environment top list 

Mathatisi Sebusi 

MASERU Central Correctional Institution (MCCI) Assistant Commissioner, Tsoto Manaka, says inmates with chronic illnesses and on life-long medication go for months without getting the lifesaving drugs. 

That, coupled with the unhygienic prison environment and hunger, were the primary factors behind inmates going to extreme measures to escape from prison. 

Commissioner Manaka made the shocking revelation on Friday, while testifying before the ongoing Commission of Inquiry into the Escape of Inmates from Lesotho Correctional Service Facility. 

Commissioner Manaka had been asked to tell the commission about challenges the MCCI faced that could lead to the escape of inmates. 

The commission was established by the government to investigate the post prison break and torture of prisoners, resulting in the death of one inmate, at MCCI in December 2023.  

The commission is comprised of the trio of Justice Realeboha Mathaba, Advocate Kelebone Maope and former LCS Commissioner Mojalefa Thulo. 

It is expected among others, to investigate, appraise, and evaluate circumstances that led to the escape of prisoners and the resultant torture of others as prison officials tried to uncover what had happened. 

According to Commissioner Manaka, the MCCI had for the longest time, experienced shortages of medication. That led to chronically ill inmates, who relied on life saving drugs, going for months without treatment. 

While the MCCI ordered drugs from the National Drug Service Organisation (NDSO), they could not procure enough, often running out of medication because of their meagre budget. 

He said as much as the institution ensured that inmates were allowed access to doctors who visited the institution regularly for consultations, “most of the time we have no drugs to prescribe to inmates who need them”. 

“This is a challenge we have…. It is even worse for people living with chronic illnesses. We have doctors who are normally called to come to the institution and examine patients. We sometimes ask them to help with medication and they usually come to our rescue. This is how we have been operating for years,” Commissioner Manaka said. 

However, Commissioner Manaka said he could not tell if Minister of Health, Selibe Mochoboroane, and Minister of Justice and Law, Richard Ramoeletsi, were aware of the situation. 

Following Commissioner Manaka’s testimony, the commission described the situation as desperate and called for urgent interventions to redress it. 

Commissioner Manaka also told the commission that food insecurity at MCCI was one of the primary factors compelling prisoners to connive to escape. 

He said when he first became a manager at MCCI, inmates used to have a good breakfast that included bread, porridge, and an egg.  

But now they only ate maize porridge with no sugar. For lunch and dinner every day, inmates ate hard maize porridge (papa) and beans. 

“The quality of food that inmates eat forms part of reasons that could result in them escaping from the correctional institution. Having to eat the same meal every day can be tiring. The inmates do not even eat the food well anymore,” Commissioner Manaka said.   

Asked why prisoners were not fed nourishing meals, Commissioner Manaka equally attributed the problem to lack of funds. 

Commissioner Manaka also left the commission gobsmacked when he revealed that the solitary confinement units of the MCCI did not have toilets. 

Inmates in solitary confinement were forced to use buckets to relieve themselves, he said. The contents of the buckets were only disposed of in the mornings. 

He said the reason behind the solitary confinement facility having no toilets was because it was rarely occupied. 

He said since 2020, only two groups of people had occupied the space, with the first group having been locked in there in 2021 and the next last year. 

Mr Manaka said inmates who were locked in solitary confinement, were, either those who were vulnerable to being victimised by other inmates or were dangerous and thus not fit to share cells with other inmates. 

He said inmates stayed in solitary confinement for between three to 14 days depending on the seriousness of their cases. 

The commission noted that no reason justified forcing people to spend the night confined in one place with a bucket containing their own faeces.  

It demanded a written report explaining why there were no toilets in the solitary confinement section, further urging that the issue be addressed swiftly.