The Home Affairs Section of Lindela consists of a permanent office with personnel employed by the Department of Home Affairs. The Department is legally and administratively responsible for all matters pertaining to the apprehension, the detention, the processing, the repatriation and the release of “illegal immigrants” at the Lindela Centre. Persons detained at the Center are apprehended by the Police or Home Affairs officials and all the Centre does is to keep the detainees in accordance with the terms of a contract signed with the Department of Home Affairs. Other issues such as medical care, feeding and recreation are also covered in the contract. The services provided at Lindela on behalf of the Department of Home Affairs include – accommodation, catering, administration, training and development, recreation, office facilities for consulates/embassies and human rights organisations. Lindela management has no authority over the apprehension, detention, repatriation or release of any person detained at its facilities. Detainees are repatriated and transported by the Department of Home Affairs almost on a daily basis, to border posts, including the Johannesburg International Airport and Lanseria Airport. Scheduled trains leave weekly to neighbouring countries (Mozambique and Zimbabwe) from the train station next to the Centre. As at June 2004, the Centre had 1,770 detainees from different countries around the world including the United Kingdom, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Malawi, Mozambique, Zimbabwe, Zambia, Lesotho, and Swaziland. The Centre has 3 sections for accommodation – two for males and one for females. The B Section has larger rooms measuring 10m x 11m. Each room holds up to 56 detainees. The C Section and the female sections have smaller rooms measuring 7m x 10m with 28 inmates per room. All the rooms are equipped with a bathroom consisting of a shower, toilet and a wash hand basin – all separated from the sleeping area with a wall. The rooms also have double bunk beds, mattresses and blankets and they all have television sets which operate for 24 hours a day. The rooms in the female section have lockers where personal items can be stored. The detainees are not locked up during the day and can involve themselves in whatever recreational and entertainment activities available to them. These activities include outdoor games such as football and netball, use of the canteen, pool tables, television programmes and a playground for children. There is also a small room with toys for children. The Centre also has a small clinic with one full time doctor. It has a ward with nine beds and a small dispensary. Serious medical problems are referred to the hospital. For security and administrative purposes, the Centre has a Control Room with 28 television monitors feeding from 42 cameras around the centre. These cameras record all the activities taking place within the facility and is monitored in the control room. For privacy reasons, the cameras do not film activities in the rooms. 28 Special Rapporteur on Prisons Mission to South Africa 14 – 30 June 2004