Prison journalism: From reckless youth to harsh realities

Prison journalism: From reckless youth to harsh realitiesBandile Ntuli was incarcerated in Pollsmoor Correctional Centre. He participated in a restorative justice programme while inside prison.

by Bandile Ntuli

28-08-2023 17:21

in Prison Journalism

From reckless youth to harsh realities

Image by unsplash

I remember having fun driving in a stolen car full of money; what more could a 15-year-old ever want? I was raised in what one could call a war zone, at a time when being part of a gang was the only way to survive. Then, after all the fun, it finally caught up to me; at 15 years of age, I entered juvie.

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Life in Granny's House : The Reformatory Experience Seeing that I was young, the courts decided that I should not be sent to a proper prison, so I was kept in a reformatory, a place called Bonnietown. They called it Granny's House, where all the worst kids of the province were gathered in one space, from the age of 12 to 16. When I entered, they all stood up at the windows, shouting and screaming; all wanted to see the new kids, the next line of people to be bullied. Luckily, I was among the new ones; little did they know, I was hell myself. You see, they called it Granny's House because the food is good, and you get snacks that would make any kid want to stay longer. But most of these kids were homeless, so for them, it was a winning situation. They were even repeat offenders at that young age, and if you were a good runner and climber, you'd be able to escape at any given moment, which I did three times until they could not handle me.

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Pollsmoor Prison: A New Level of Brutality I was then sent to the big boys' house, Pollsmoor, in a section called B5 at the time. I adapted easily because I had a bad attitude and so forth, joined a gang, and had my fun days, but to be honest, I found worse people than myself. As time went by, I came to understand the situation I was in; it was no longer fun. They were actually raping and stabbing each other on a daily basis; things turned for the worst. The gangs were tougher; they had real knives, or they made their own weapons. Not all wardens would work with the prisoners, for the wardens also knew the tough guys kept the individuals in line. There were days when weed would be brought in, stolen prison food, and when you worked with officers, the riches of that loot were yours. Extortion and manipulation are what drove that hell. If an inmate reorganized and came to know the address of that officer, their families were to be threatened for favors needed by the inmates. Some officers are just driven by greed.

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Lessons Learned: A Graduation in Crime and Unexpected Connections All in all, I came to that place to await but instead graduated in crime, and got connections I never imagined. I was lucky, maybe tough, that I never got raped nor stabbed; I've been beaten up for stabbing or robbing others.

ALSO READ: Prison journalism: How a pen helped me escape prison

Should you wish to assist in the rehabilitation of former inmates and help put money into the pockets of those who have struggled to earn a living during and after incarceration, click HERE

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DISCLAIMER: Submission published as received

RESTORE is an NGO based in Cape Town, South Africa, providing inmates at Pollsmoor Prison with restorative justice opportunities.

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