A Glimpse into Prison Life: Challenges and Survival

The first time I went to prison, I was caught with 27 packets of crystal meth here on the corner by us; I was selling drugs for someone. They caught me red-handed with the drugs, busy helping a client. They just put me in the police van and took me straight to Manenberg police station. Then, the following day, I appeared at Athlone Magistrates’ court for possession of drugs.

The Harsh Realities of Awaiting Trial

Prison isn’t a nice place. There, on the awaiting trial, where I lay for my second time, you don’t sleep on a bed; you sleep on the floor. And if you want to sleep on a bed, you must pay to sleep on a bed. Luckily, there were people who were indotas (26/28 gang), as they say in prison, who did give me a bed. But on that bed, we did sleep together. The only time when you sleep alone on a bed is if there’s someone going to court, and then they come to the room the next morning.

The Struggle for Basic Comforts

There were guys who asked their family for R1000 vouchers to buy beds to sleep on. Then they don’t even see half of that money. They only get tobacco and weed, and if you are on drugs, then you get that. And there are people who sell food for tobacco and stuff.

ALSO READ: Prison journalism: Challenges In Pollsmoor Healthcare Facilities

Personal Losses and Daily Routine

One morning when I woke up, my new pair of Nike sneakers was stolen from under my bed. The guy who stole them went to court and never returned back to the cell. And in the morning, before the indotas (26/28 gang) are up, you must be up because the cell must be clean. Every day, a different person gets a chance to clean the cell. The most difficult part for me inside prison was being in a room all day on trial. It’s up to the wardens if they want to give you exercise, and that’s not a big yard like in the minimum section; it’s small.

Navigating Prison Dynamics

The easiest part for me in prison was just to be myself and obey the law in the cell. If they asked me something, then I just told them, but I didn’t let them use me to keep their stuff. If you don’t obey the law in the cell, then they hit you. The indotas, they hit you if you do anything wrong in their eyes. I saw how they hit people in the cell where I lay. They hit them with Sunlight soap put in their socks, then they hit you like that all over your back. They first let you sit on your knees before they do that, or they smack you.

Seeing people hit in prison didn’t make me feel good about that because I wouldn’t like it to happen to me.

ALSO READ: Prison journalism: Things that still stick with you once you’re out of prison

DISCLAIMER: Submission published as received

RESTORE is an NGO based in Cape Town, South Africa, providing inmates at Pollsmoor Prison with restorative justice opportunities.

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