S7 E7: Behind Prison Walls: Unlocking a Safer South Africa
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Show notes
In conversation with Judge Edwin Cameron, Rebecca Gore and Sohela Surajpal
This episode of Africa Rights Talk delves into the often-invisible world of South Africa’s prison system through a compelling conversation with the authors of Behind Prison Walls: Unlocking a Safer South Africa, Judge Edwin Cameron, Rebecca Gore, and Sohela Surajpal. Drawing on their extensive experience at the Judicial Inspectorate for Correctional Services (JICS), the trio sheds light on the systemic violence, overcrowding, and lack of accountability that define life behind bars. The discussion explores the motivations behind writing the book and how it fills a critical gap in public understanding of incarceration and justice. With firsthand insights and reflections, the authors emphasize that prison reform is not just a matter of policy, but a moral imperative rooted in human rights.
The episode offers a vision for what meaningful reform could look like, centering rehabilitation, dignity, and true safety for both inmates and society at large. Judge Cameron speaks to how his prison visits reshaped his understanding of justice and vulnerability, while Gore and Surajpal share the deeply personal stories that rarely make it into the public record. Together, they argue for a collective reimagining of South Africa’s approach to correctional services, one that recognizes prisons as potential spaces of restoration rather than sites of perpetual harm. This thought-provoking episode challenges listeners to expand their understanding of justice beyond the prison walls.
Judge Edwin Cameron was appointed Inspecting Judge of prisons from 1 January 2020, after serving 25 years as a judge, the last eleven in South Africa's highest court, the Constitutional Court. He has also authored Witness to AIDS and Justice: A Personal Account.
Rebecca Gore worked as a legal researcher to Inspecting Judge Edwin Cameron at the Judicial Inspectorate for Correctional Services (2021–2022) and law clerk at the Constitutional Court of South Africa (2019-2020). In addition, she has worked and consulted for a variety of international human rights bodies in South Africa and abroad, including the UN Working Group on discrimination against women and girls. She is currently a pupil advocate at the Cape Bar. Rebecca holds a Bachelor of Social Science in Politics, Philosophy, and Economics (PPE), a postgraduate Honours degree, and an LLB from the University of Cape Town, where she is a research associate at the Centre for Law and Society. She earned her Master of Laws (LLM) from Harvard Law School, where she was awarded the Henigson Human Rights Fellowship. Her recent publications are:
https://repository.law.umich.edu/mjgl/vol31/iss2/4/https://journals.law.harvard.edu/hrj/wp-content/uploads/sites/83/2024/06/05_HLH_37_1_Reyes-Farbstein169-206.pdf https://www.africanlawmatters.com/blog/carceral-period-poverty-in-south-african-prisons
Sohela Surajpal is a law clerk and researcher at the Judicial Inspectorate for Correctional Services. Sohela is an alumni of the Centre for Human Rights' Masters in Human Rights and Democratisation in Africa. She has clerked at the Constitutional Court of South Africa and worked on LGBTQ+ rights as a project officer at the Centre.
This conversation was recorded on 26 June 2025.
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