Day 3 - Constitution Hill [Old Fort Prison & Constitutional Court]

After a much needed (but much TOO brief) overnight rest, we were off again in the early morning. Today we made our way a few minutes east to Constitution Hill. This area contains the remains of an old colonial fort that dates back to the 1800s. The fort was turned into a prison and came to hold politicial prisoners, men and women, during the era of Apartheid. The structure has since been restored and turned into a museum.

The organization that restored this site did an excellent job bringing out so many of the subtle aspects within the prison. Very large displays with quotes, images and first hand accounts from prisoners on conditions and treatment are everywhere, but not in an overbearing way. One memorable quote, from Nelson Mandela, summed up the essence of this site:

"It is said that no one truly knows a nation until one has been inside its jails. A nation should not be judged by how it treats its highest citizens, but its lowest ones – and South Africa [during apartheid] treated its imprisoned African citizens like animals."

By the time you leave this site, you understand exactly what Mandela was talking about.


Both women and men were brought to this prison for a wide variety of reasons.  As the resistance to Apartheid grew in the 1960s through the 1980s, merely advocating for equality was grounds for imprisonment.  In fact, one display quoted a law enacted in 1965, called the 180-Day Detention Law.  This stated that the State could detain people they wished to use as witnesses in criminal or political trials for "repeated periods of up to 180 day without trial".  The word 'repeated' is key here, since that implied that your 'detention' could go on indefinitely!

As you pass through the front gates, you are taken to women's section.  Here you quickly come upon a gloomy, cavernous hall that contains one of the many cellblocks:

According to our guide, Pius, the cells in this block were used for solitary confinement.  Prisoners were held within their cell for 23 hours a day, with 30 minutes reserved for exercise and 30 minutes for eating.   Here's a look at the inside of one of the solitary cells:

You can see the solid door that's used for these types of cells.  However, I was surprised that the doors to the 'regular' cells wasn't much better:

Here, you're looking at very heavy wire mesh welded onto the bars that make up a cell door.  This must have made for a very isolating environment, even for those who were here for 'regular' crimes.

On the men's side, things weren't much better.  Again, solitary confinement cells are built into a long wall that must be passed every day when the prisoners made their way to the eating area:

You'll notice above the cells, even the view of the sky - which might have brought some little ray of hope - is covered with barbed wire.

An interesting and unusual item in this prison is a bust of Mohandas Gandhi, added to this site just two months ago, in May, 2012:

A display in a small room to the left of the statue tells the story (which I forgot!) of how Gandhi spent time in this prison in the early 1900s.  As the first Indian laywer in Johannesburg, Gandhi fought for Indians in South Africa whose rights were being denied.  For this, Gandhi was imprisoned here on three separate occasions.  Also part of this display is a quote from Gandhi:

"Truly speaking, it was after I went to South Africa that I became what I am now. My love for South Africa and my concern for her problems are no less than for India."

Another exhibit gives tribute to the time spent by Nelson Mandela in this prison.  Mandela was one of the few prisoners given a separate living area, apart from other prisoners.  As the display explains, this was not out of respect for Mandela, but because prison officials wanted to watch him more closely.  Here, the exhibit presents materials that are actually from Mandela's stay on Robben Island.  I am not exactly sure why (maybe they didn't have any artifacts from his stay in this prison?), so I will hold off on the images until my Robben Island visit next week...

The Constitutional Court and a big "A Ha!" moment

South Africa's Constitutional Court - their version of the US Supreme Court - is located on the same grounds of the Old Fort Prison.  As we walked in, our guide explained that the court was built with several imprtant themes.  The first was based on the South African idea of "Justice under a tree", which referred to traditional times when people would meet under a tree and resolve issues.  With that in mind, the unique design of the front lobby, resembling a tree, became clear: 

As we entered the main chamber, where the eleven justices would hear matters involving constitutional rights, the symbolism and design of the room was strong.  In the image below, I used a neat tool called ThingLink to point out six key aspects of this room.  Please move your mouse over the dots to learn more:

I was truly blown away by the thought that went into this design.  Perhaps the most striking thing was using some of the old brickwork from the prison within the walls of this chamber.  Initially, I thought to myself that black South Africans would want to move away from the past and create a 'new' South Africa, one that was far away from the violence and oppression of the past.  Then I had an "A ha" moment.  How much more powerful a statement can be made when you take the shame and hurt of the past and turn it into something positive and good?  That's exactly what is going on here.  Rather than turn a blind eye to what has happened in the past, South Africa wants to take those memories and transform the site of so much sadness into a symbol of hope.  It could not have been done better.

Outside the court, this theme of "turn the bad into the good" can be seen in two places.  First, the original processing centers for prisoners, rectangular brick structures with plain white doors, were kept as markers as you make your way to the Court:  

However, above each of these structures, large columns of bluish glass were erected:

This glass lights up in the evening, and turns these former entryways for prisoners into beacons, bringing light to the evening sky.

Second, on the back of the last of these structures, officials installed the 'Flame of Democracy', an eternal flame that symbolizes the democratic ideals in South Africa: 

It is an amazing contrast:  the door through which prisoners were sent to their cells in the same place as an ever-burning flame of democracy!

... And that was only the morning part of our tour!!..  Stay tuned for the afternoon!