Chaos at the prisons or a storm in a teacup? Allegations of drug trafficking, illegal betting and sexual abuse have been rife for a while now. Recent weeks have seen a flow of “revelations” and “confessions” as well as the escape of a prisoner of the “high risk” category from a “medium security” prison (See Inset). Allegations of a conspiracy to poison a high profile witness in murder cases all point to some degree of laxity in the management of prisons.

The government’s answer to any type of problems relating to penal institutions has always been a change at the head of the administration of our penitentiaries. Again prime minister Paul Bérenger has expressed his disapproval at the state of things and he has reiterated his commitment to solve the problem. How? By recruiting foreign expertise, if locals are not willing to perform; the question is - when do we go to the roots of the problem?

At the outset, one vital point, say those who know the subject. By definition, administering a prison system is a hard task. One is, after all, dealing with people locked up behind high walls and who have no wish to be deprived of their freedom. They are thus bound to rebel, be aggressive and cause problems. Do you make them angrier or do you soothe them? asks a priest, who has been the companion of inmates for years now.

This seems to be the main cause of the problems. How do you keep drugs out of prison when the majority of convicts have been sent there precisely because of their drug-related problems? Experts say: de-penalise drug-related offences: offer alternative treatment and use imprisonment as a last resort. How do you deal with the proliferation of sexual activities? Experts say: separate the perpetrators and keep them away from potential victims. But how do you do this when you have an over population problem and no space? If you lock four detainees together in a single cell, are you not encouraging interactions between them? “You have answered your own question”, says a prison officer.

State intervention

How do you stop prisoners from making things up and rebelling and escaping? You treat them well. You keep them so busy with extra-curricular activities that they do not have the time to dwell on more sordid issues, says a psychologist. If all this sounds so straightforward, why are there problems still? “As long as the government intervenes in the administration of prisons, we will always have problems,” says a lawyer. This thought trend is shared by a few other people, all experts in the matter, in varying degrees.

The prisons now have a new head, Bill Duff. He has a long experience in the management of penitentiaries in London and is bound to know his stuff. Although this in itself is good news, prison officers question the relevance of a foreigner in this post when there are local people qualified for the job. Another government intervention.

The latest one shows that decision-makers have failed to understand the issue. It seems that the scheme of service to become commissioner of prisons has changed. Nowadays, one needs to be an M.A. degree holder, have international experience in the field as well as having studied political science. It is only thus, according to the government, that one would be qualified to manage the Mauritius Prison Service. It is only thus that drug trafficking inside the prisons will stop; sexual abuse will become a thing of the past; violence and idleness become foreign to inmates; and prisoners turn into law-abiding citizens…

<B>Alleged plot to kill lawyer and policeman</B>

Prisoner Iqbal Rose denies being implicated in any conspiracy to murder lawyer Ashley Hurhangee and Anti-Drug & Smuggling Unit (ADSU) inspector Hector Tuyau. Serving a five-year term in Petit-Verger Prison at Pointe-aux-Sables for drug dealing, he escaped on Monday 11 October and gave himself up 24 hours later. Rumour had it that he escaped in order to kill the two men.

His absence from his prison cell was discovered by Criminal Investigation Division (CID) officers, who had come to question him on the Dabidin-Gulbul case. A phone call, received by Ashley Hurhangee on that day, warned him that Rose would try to get rid of him. He referred the threat to the police who took it seriously.

Rose, who gave himself up the next day, denied having escaped so as to eliminate the lawyer and the police inspector. He said he wanted to get back the sum of Rs 100 000, which was in his wife’s possession, to pay a fine imposed on him by the intermediate court. Iqbal Rose, a habitual criminal was questioned at the Central Criminal Investigation Department (C CID) last Wednesday. Since his return to custody, he has been transferred to the high security prison, La Bastille, in Phoenix.

Questioned about possible connections with inmate Yusuf Dabidin, Iqbal Rose pointed out that he had never been detained with this man. The latter had declared that he had given a Rs 5 000 bribe to Rehana Mungly-Gulbul, deputy master and registrar of the Supreme Court, when she was sitting as magistrate in the intermediate court. Rose named some prisoners he had met when he was detained at the New Wing of Beau-Bassin Prison. There was no conspiracy whatsoever to attempt to take anybody’s life, he said.

Prisoner Rose was arrested in 2001 at his home, in Malakoff street, Vallée-Pitot in an operation led by ADSU police officer Pierre Murugan. 21 doses of heroin, equipment used in its preparation and Rs 4 000 were seized.