entrenched gang network. However, it may be useful to experiment it in those prisons where gang activities are absent or less severe. K. Conclusions and Recommendations The Republic of South Africa commemorated ten years of freedom and democracy in April 2004, after decades of struggle to combat the injustices of apartheid. The apartheid policy was manifested in all aspects of South African life – including the criminal justice system in general and prisons in particular. Prisons were regarded as places of punishment, to put away political opponents either temporarily or permanently. Rehabilitation was never part of the prison vocabulary as there was no prospect for reintegrating the “offenders” into the society. After 1994, a new dispensation that recognised an open and democratic society characterised by respect for human rights, non racialism, non sexism, the rule of law and human dignity was ushered in. These values have been extended to every aspect of South African life and to every individual in South Africa, including prisons and prisoners. The emerging policy views prisons as places of corrections and rehabilitation for eventual reintegration into society. It considers the right to liberty as a fundamental right and has provided appropriate safeguards to any encroachment. Thus, the rights of arrested, detained or accused persons have been firmly enshrined in Article 35 of the 1996 Constitution. The transformation from apartheid to an open and democratic society has not been easy. The expectation of the population has been high and although the government has been credited for doing well to bridge the social gap, poverty and unemployment remain a major challenge. The national budget has many competing social demands, not least amongst them, improving the conditions of detention of persons deprived of their liberty. Poverty, unemployment, illiteracy, diseases and other social vices remain relatively high amongst the formerly disadvantaged communities, especially the black community. These social problems notwithstanding, the Government has shown commitment to improve the conditions of persons under its custody. A humane and compassionate prison system is not only consistent with the Constitution of the country but will also ensure the preservation of human dignity enshrined therein and in conformity with South Africa’s international human rights obligation. The Correctional Services Act of 1998, when fully implemented will go a long way towards affirming the principles set out in both the South African Constitution and international human rights instruments. More significantly, the Act incorporates principles espoused by the allimportant Standard Minimum Rules for the Treatment of Prisoners21 and Kampala Declaration on Prison Conditions in Africa.22 There are three essential principles covered by the Standard Minimum Rules: all prisoners shall be treated with respect due to their inherent dignity and value as human beings; there shall be no discrimination on the grounds of, inter alia, race, 21 22 Adopted by the First United Nations Congress on the Prevention of Crime and the Treatment of Offenders, held at Geneva in 1955 and approved by ECOSOC, 13 May 1977. Vide PRISON CONDITIONS IN AFRICA; Report of a Pan African Seminar, Kampala, Uganda, 19-21 September 1996; Paris: Penal Reform International, 1997. 62