depriving them of their right to be presumed innocent for whatever offence until proven guilty by a court of competent jurisdiction. The arbitrariness of the arrests and detentions, which in several occasions has led to the arrest and detention of even South Africans themselves, provides sufficient reason for a court determination on the matter; l) Report on the implementation of these recommendations during the submission of its next report to the African Commission. II. To civil society a) Members of civil society, especially NGOs should constantly visit prisons and other places of detention to ensure that the government is meeting its domestic as well as international human rights obligations towards persons deprived of their liberty; b) NGOs should encourage and organise retreats and workshops for prison officials and inform them of best practices in other penal systems in Africa and around the world; c) NGOs should also support the efforts of government by assisting in promoting the welfare of prisoners. III. To prison authorities a) Prison officials should be more involved in monitoring the welfare of prisoners and desist from sponsoring one gang against the other. Heads of prison should develop strategies to combat corruption by prison officials. To this end, complaints boxes should be posted outside each cell where prisoners can submit confidential complaints. The key to these boxes shall be with the Heads of the Institutions or someone duly designated by them. All complaints must be treated in confidence; b) Complaints of abuse should be investigated and dealt with expeditiously so as not to encourage impunity; c) Prison authorities, the police and the judiciary should meet regularly to discuss ways of further improving the criminal justice system; d) Human rights training should be extended to all levels of administration. Senior officials should be encouraged to attend human rights training courses relating to prison management and the treatment of prisoners. It was realized that when senior prison officials are invited to such trainings, they send junior members and the latter are usually not part of the policy making machinery of the department; and 66