CAT/C/ZAF/CO/2 be restricted for up to 42 days, with a loss of their gratuity for up to two months. It is particularly concerned that an inspecting judge has 72 hours to decide on the use of mechanical constraints such as handcuffs and leg irons (arts. 2, 11 and 16). 21. The State party should ensure that measures such as segregation, which amount to de facto solitary confinement, are used only in the most exceptional circumstances and for short periods of time, in accordance with the Nelson Mandela Rules. The State party should treat prisoners with humanity and dignity and regulate the use of physical restraints such as handcuffs and leg irons with a view to avoiding their use to the extent possible in all settings. Violence in places of detention and deaths in custody 22. The Committee is seriously concerned at numerous incidences of violence in places of deprivation of liberty, including excessive use of force, torture, sexual violence and other forms of ill-treatment. It is also concerned at the high number of deaths in custody resulting, notably, from actions of police and prison officials and from the absence of medical treatment, and at the low number of investigations into and prosecutions relating to such deaths (arts. 2, 11–14 and 16). 23. The State party should: (a) Ensure that all deaths in custody and all cases of violence and other forms of ill-treatment in State or contract-managed prisons are investigated promptly, thoroughly and impartially by an independent mechanism, with no institutional or hierarchical connection between the investigators and the alleged perpetrators; that those responsible are brought to justice and, if found guilty, duly punished; and that the victims or their dependants obtain adequate redress; (b) Ensure independent forensic examinations, provide autopsy reports to the family members of the deceased and, if requested, permit family members to commission private autopsies; (c) Ensure that the courts in the State party take into consideration the reports of independent forensic examinations and autopsies as evidence in criminal and civil cases; (d) Provide updated information to the Committee on the steps taken to implement the results of the arbitration hearings conducted by Judge Dikgang Moseneke into the death of at least 144 patients with psychosocial and mental disabilities who died after being transferred from Life Esidimeni facilities to 27 other centres, of which some did not have operating licences, and to deal with the cases of persons who are still missing; (e) Ensure that custodial staff are required to thoroughly record the circumstances in all cases in which physical force and special means have been used against inmates, and also ensure adherence to the rules regarding the use of force in the police and penitentiary units by implementing regular independent monitoring; (f) Provide training to custodial staff on the management of prisoners in order to prevent the commission of inter-prisoner violence, suicide and self-harm incidents, and speed up the finalization of the guidelines regarding the prevention of deaths of persons in custody. Monitoring of places of detention and complaints mechanisms 24. While welcoming the parliamentary approval of the ratification of the Optional Protocol to the Convention and the designation of the South African Human Rights Commission as the coordinating body for the national preventive mechanism, the Committee is concerned about the limitations currently faced by oversight bodies in terms of mandates, budgets and institutional independence from the government departments that are supervised. It is gravely concerned at reports that there is, at present, no monitoring of police stations and their detention facilities. It is also concerned about allegations that there are no adequate safeguards in place to protect complainants from reprisals in all places of 6