SACQ

The document examines the systemic failures of the South African criminal justice system through the lens of decolonisation. It argues that current bail practices—specifically the insistence on verified addresses and cash payments—effectively criminalise poverty and maintain colonial-era structures of domination. The report also documents severe human rights violations at the Lindela Repatriation Centre, where undocumented migrants are treated as 'bare life' in a 'state of exception'. Through interviews and legal analysis, the text highlights a gap between constitutional ideals and the lived experiences of activists and migrants, suggesting that true decolonisation requires a fundamental rethinking of the purpose of prisons rather than mere institutional reform.

• The practice of requiring a verified residential address for bail is widespread and unfairly prejudices the poor and homeless, often leading to pre-trial incarceration periods that exceed eventual sentences.
• The South African bail system often functions as a 'penalty for poverty' because judicial officers frequently fail to conduct mandatory inquiries into an accused person's ability to pay cash bail, leading to the detention of the indigent while the wealthy remain free.
• Undocumented migrants at the Lindela Repatriation Centre experience systemic human rights violations, including physical torture, sexual abuse of women by staff, and appalling living conditions where detainees are treated as 'animals'.
• The Lindela Repatriation Centre operates as a 'state of exception' where the law is suspended for undocumented migrants, who are treated as 'bare life' and subjected to 'xenophobic biopower'.
• Corruption is prevalent at the Lindela Repatriation Centre, with reports of staff and Home Affairs officials taking bribes to grant freedom to detainees.
• Community activists, student activists, and migrants often rationalise their experiences of injustice in ways that unintentionally reinforce the legitimacy and hegemony of the legal system.
• Decolonising the South African prison system requires more than institutional 'tinkering'; it necessitates a complete rethinking of the purpose of incarceration and a shift toward restorative justice based on African value systems.

APA

Institute for Security Studies (2018). SACQ. https://issafrica.s3.amazonaws.com/site/uploads/sacq66.pdf

Chicago

Institute for Security Studies. SACQ. 2018. https://issafrica.s3.amazonaws.com/site/uploads/sacq66.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=Institute for Security Studies |title=SACQ |date=2018 |url=https://issafrica.s3.amazonaws.com/site/uploads/sacq66.pdf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{instituteforsecuritystudies2018sacq, author = {{Institute for Security Studies}}, title = {{SACQ}}, institution = {Institute for Security Studies}, year = {2018}, url = {https://issafrica.s3.amazonaws.com/site/uploads/sacq66.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }