Warder Confirms Use O Shocks (Press, 24 April 1969)

On 23 April 1969, a former prison warder testified in a court in Johannesburg regarding the treatment of African prisoners, claiming they were subjected to electric shock treatment to extract information. The warder's identity was not revealed due to a court order. His statement was part of the trial involving Laurence Gandar, the editor-in-chief of the "Rand Daily Mail," and senior reporter Benjamin Pogrund, who faced charges of publishing false information about prison conditions without taking sufficient steps to verify their claims. They pleaded not guilty. This trial stems from a series of articles that the "Rand Daily Mail" published in June and July of 1965. These articles made serious allegations regarding the use of electric torture, physical assaults, sexual violence, and unsanitary conditions in several prisons, including Cinderella Prison located in Boksburg, near Johannesburg. During his testimony, the former warder recounted his experiences working at Cinderella Prison in 1964 and 1965 before resigning. He described a practice in which prisoners were stripped and placed on a table covered with a wet waterproof sheet in a hospital setting, where electric machines were employed. He detailed that the machine stood two feet high, with wires and electrodes attached to various parts of a prisoner's body, resulting in painful electric shocks that often made the prisoners scream. He asserted that the procedure was intended to extract information and noted that other prisoners had to restrain the shocked individual to prevent them from fleeing. The warder further claimed that there were instances in which the electric shocks were administered to a prisoner's genitals. He also provided accounts of physical violence committed by Chief Warder Van Der Merwe, stating that he witnessed prisoners being beaten severely. He indicated that when 20 prisoners were confined in a cell, those who did not exit quickly enough to get their breakfast would be hit. The same punitive measures applied if they did not consume their food rapidly. The warder revealed that the culture of fear and intimidation inhibited prisoners from voicing complaints, as any grievances would lead to more severe punishment in the observation section. The trial continues, with implications that the testimonies could shed light on human rights violations within the South African prison system during that era.

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