DOC/OS(XXXIII)/324c/I
20
Sanitary installations and water
In prisons, there are private bathrooms (showers, sinks, sometimes with warm
water as in the section for juveniles in Walvis Bay), urinals and private flushing
toilets adjoining the dormitories and individual cells. Other bathrooms and taps are
accessible directly from the courtyard. The inmates have access to well built
laundries, linen rooms and clotheslines. It should be noted however that section E of
Grootfontein prison does not have a shower (an exception).
Usually prisons have no problem in obtaining a water supply However, the
delegation noted that there could be interruptions in supplies and that water was
sometimes rationed in Oluno and Omaruru prisons (4 to 5 litres per day per
prisoner).
The delegation noticed problems with drainage of waste water, leaks, plumbing,
faulty flushes, deterioration of equipment (taps, flushes) and lack of maintenance
(section F in Windhoek, Omaruru, Walvis Bay, juvenile sections, G, P and Q of
Oluno prison, E. Nepemba juvenile centre, Hardap prison). Thus, some of the
installations have been closed down (bathrooms in Hardap and Omaruru), which is
all the more regrettable as the number of sanitary facilities is hardly sufficient,
considering the large number of inmates. Furthermore, not all prisoners in Hardap
prison have access to a private bathroom (inmates in the older part of the prison,
sections A).
The Ministry of Works, Transport and Communication should be asked to intervene
in all the prisons to make an assessment of the situation and undertake the
necessary repairs to buildings and works. It should be remembered that there is a
lot of pressure from the population living here. Maintenance should therefore be a
priority to avoid quick and irreversible deterioration of the facilities.
Originally, the cells in police stations had toilets with flushes and a sink, but in most
cases these no longer function. Prisoners therefore have to use basic installations in
the courtyard that are often faulty: a shower, a toilet and a tap, without separation or
privacy. In the Wanaheda and Ondangwa stations, faulty facilities are the cause of
major unhygienic conditions (stagnant dirty water, smells, waste) inside the sections
and in the central corridor of the building, which make the conditions of detention —
and of work for staff — difficult and a health hazard. At Wanaheda, the detainees in
the women's cell do not have a shower and have to wash in basins.
For very good reason, and the Special Rapporteur agrees with them, the prisoners
perceive the close proximity and evident lack of hygiene as degrading and an affront
to their dignity. They all complained to the delegation about this in a manner that left
no doubt about how much they suffered from this treatment. This situation is a
violation of their right to dignity.
The Special Rapporteur recommended that the police authorities should find means
to repair all police cells and bring them up to basic international standard.
Electricity
In most prisons, the electrical installations seem to be in a good state. The
courtyards are lit all night long, whereas inside the cells, the lights are switched off
at 9:00 pm (Windhoek). The lights are switched on again at 5:00 am. However, the
delegation noticed that there was no bulbs in some cells in Omaruru prison (juvenile
and women's sections). In some institutions the inmates are studying and therefore
the lights are on for a longer time (10:00 pm in the Walvis Bay juvenile section in
Oluno prison).
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