According to the Department of Prisons, a total of 498 people were serving sentences of imprisonment for political offences under South Africa's main security laws on 24 January. A Spokesman for the Prisons Department said that 489 prisoners were serving sentences on Robben Island and nine others were in other prisons. Of the 498, eight were Coloured, two Indian and the rest African. The figure given therefore excludes the six white prisoners held in Pretoria and possibly also the 15 women imprisoned under security legislation, who are not held on Robben Island. If these two groups are included the total comes to 519.
In October it was confirmed that the Transkei Department of Prisons is applying the same regulation as the South African Prisons Department in not allowing any remission on sentences imposed for political offences. The deputy prisons commissioner in the Transkei stated that this portion of the South African Prisons Act was still in force, adding "We will apply this section until such time as it has been repealed by the Transkei National Assembly".
