Pollsmoor Maximum Security Prison, Tokai, Cape Town. After three months of proposals and meetings, finally the morning arrived to enter the personal cells in the Maximum B section. Above the main gate are written the words, ‘Seize the moment, touch someone, rehabilitate.’ A far cry from the truth inside.
That first day I could smell my own fear. When the main gate was unlocked, I entered with my camera, two lenses, pen, paper and my phone as a voice-recording device. Between two rows of leering eyes I walked, escorted by five wardens to meet the prisoners who’d agreed to share their stories. A smell of smoke, bodies and the thickness of stale air hit me.
After five days of visiting, the prison wardens escorting me had dwindled to just one.…
