It appears possible that the maximum security prison on Robben Island will be transferred to the Leeuwkop prison site near Johannesburg, where there is already a prison farm. The reasons for closing Robben Island, which currently has about 450 black political prisoners and a similar number of criminal offenders (housed separately) are the lack of fresh water, costs and staff difficulties caused by its isolated position. But white residents of Sandton, the Johannesburg suburb closest to Leeuwkop, are angry at the proposed re-location which would bring all the prominent black political prisoners close to South Africa's biggest city.
Issue 16 · article
South Africa: New Prison
Report on the proposed relocation of the Robben Island prison.
