VISUALLY IMPAIRED RAPE CONVICT WALKS FREE

MBABANE - The lack of infrastructure to accommodate people with disabilities in the country’s prisons has seen a visually impaired rapist walking free.

Daniel Masimula (60), who has reportedly developed other sickness which has rendered him bedridden, has been in custody since 2022. He was convicted of raping a teenage girl, by the Pigg’s Peak Magistrates Court and was awaiting sentence. However, due to his condition, His Majesty’s Correctional Services (HMCS) Chief Medical Officer, Doctor Mulume Ngoie, wrote to the director of public prosecutions (DPP), outlining why it would no longer be prudent for the institution to continue keeping the convict.  In turn, the prosecution moved an application at the High Court to have Masimula released, on what it termed as ‘free bail’. Judge Bonginkhosi Magagula who heard the application then endorsed that Masimula be released on free bail as prayed for by the prosecution. When moving the application, prosecutor Mxolisi Dlamini, informed the court that this was an extraordinary application. He told the court that the Correctional facility had no option but to apply that the convict should be released on ‘free bail’ as the institution was unable to continue keeping him due to his fading health condition.

Attention

The prosecutor brought it to the attention of the court that they feared that the convict might die, hence the need to have him released to his family. In his report to the DPP, Dr Ngoie stated that during his last visit at Pigg’s Peak Correctional Centre, on January 16, 2024, together with a nurse, they noted that Masimula was bedridden, semi-conscious, communicated poorly and lost his vision. He highlighted that they also observed that the glycaemia readings were high and they referred him to Pigg’s Peak Government Hospital. Glycemia refers to the concentration of sugar or glucose in the blood. The chief medical officer mentioned that Masimula’s current health condition, was not improving and he needed to be physically assisted continuously, by a third person to enable him to meet his day-to-day personal/natural needs.

“Considering that our Correctional clinics are not yet equipped with the palliative care unit to provide these services, I therefore recommend that the patient (Masimula) be discharged home, where he will benefit from the tender-loving care from his family members, which he needed the most at this particular stage of his sickness,” reads part of the letter by the doctor that was presented in court. Also annexed to the application for the release of Masimula is a psychosocial enquiry that was prepared by the institution. In the inquiry report, it is stated that the Correctional facilities had a legal obligation to accommodate the needs of blind and visually impaired offenders.  As per the report, the blind and visually impaired inmates should be entitled to certain accommodation and support to ensure their safety and well-being. This according to the institution should include, providing material in accessible formats such as braille or audio, ensuring that facilities are navigable for those with visual impairments and offering support services such as mobility training.

Infrastructure

“However, Correctional Services facilities do not have such infrastructure to accommodate visually impaired inmates.  They do not have equal access to prison services and privileges available to other inmates. They have to rely on other inmates to help them navigate prison facilities as they lack the basic housekeeping skills to do things on their own,” reads part of the psychosocial inquiry report. According to the report, visually impaired inmates relied on other prisoners to move around, to take a bath or even going to the toilet. The court was informed through the report that, the above depicted the situation Pigg’s Peak Correctional Centre and Masimula were currently faced with. It was brought to the court’s attention that when Masimula was arrested and brought to the Pigg’s Peak Correctional Centre, on December 23, 2022, it was observed that he was visually impaired.  

In the report, it was further stated that since the institution did not have accommodation for people with physical disabilities, Masimula was kept at Dormitory 5, where there were few inmates. The court was further told that ever since Masimula was incarcerated, he had been struggling with day-to-day activities such as bathing, washing, going to the toilet and feeding due to his condition. The institution mentioned that Masimula relied on other inmates for his basic housekeeping skills. “Exacerbating the situation, Masimula has developed other sicknesses which have resulted in him being in and out of hospital,” stated the institution. Meanwhile, there is a pending court case at the High Court where the lack of infrastructure to accommodate inmates with physical disabilities is being used as a ground to motivate a bail application filed by Gawuzela’s son Zweli who is an amputee. Zweli and his co-accused brother, Jabulani Simelane, who is a member of the Swaziland Liberation Movement (SWALIMO) are facing charges under the Suppression of Terrorism Act.

Facilities

As an amputee, Zweli informed the court that he used crutches to move around and he was unable to carry out the most basic personal chores without being assisted or using specialised facilities such as toilets and bathrooms specifically designed to accommodate him in his amputee condition. “It is my submission that I have spent over nine months in the second respondent's (Correctional) facility but I have not been shown or taken to a specialised toilet or bathroom.  “It is, therefore, my submission that the Kingdom of Eswatini is yet to construct facilities to accommodate persons with disabilities. The second respondent's Correctional facilities in the country were not built to accommodate persons with disabilities,” said Zweli.

According to Zweli, he believed that his detention in the Correctional facility, which had a lot of physical barriers, violated the Convention on the Rights of  Persons with Disabilities (CRPD) and the Optional Protocol to the Convention, to which the Kingdom of Eswatini is a signatory. He averred that the conditions under which he was detained did not meet the standards for the detention of persons with physical disabilities such as him.  He informed the court that, on daily basis, he was at the mercy of a fellow inmate to assist with the basic personal chores such dishing up food, which he could not do since his  hands were invariably fixed on the crutches to support his balance and movements. Zweli further pointed out that he could not wash his clothes, bath properly and use the toilets because such places were only designed for able-bodied inmates.  Zweli’s bail application, which is being opposed by the prosecution, is still pending in court.

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