President Cyril Ramaphosa on Wednesday commemorated the 36th anniversary of Nelson Mandela’s release from prison by inaugurating a landmark training academy at the Drakenstein Correctional Facility — the same site where South Africa’s first democratic president was once incarcerated.
The newly established Nelson Mandela Rules Training Academy is the first institution in Africa dedicated exclusively to promoting and advancing the United Nations Standard Minimum Rules for the Treatment of Prisoners, widely known as the Nelson Mandela Rules. These guidelines set out internationally recognised principles aimed at ensuring dignity, fairness and humane treatment for individuals deprived of their liberty.
Speaking at the launch, Jane Marie Ong’olo, Regional Representative of the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), highlighted the enduring influence of Mandela’s life and struggle on global justice standards.
“Nelson Mandela himself spent more than 27 years in prison and throughout his life he remained such a powerful advocate for fairness, justice and humane treatment of all people,” Ong’olo said. “His legacy lives on through the United Nations Standard Minimum Rules for the Treatment of Prisoners.”
Ramaphosa described the academy as a significant step in strengthening correctional services, not only in South Africa but across the Southern African region and beyond. He noted that the facility is the first of its kind on the continent and is intended to serve as a centre of excellence for correctional training and reform.
“I am told this is the first such facility of its kind on the African continent,” the president said, underscoring its broader continental and global relevance.
The academy will focus on education, skills development and rehabilitation programmes designed to support inmate reintegration into society. It will also provide opportunities for those serving long-term sentences to pursue personal development and self-improvement, in line with the values Mandela championed.
By situating the academy at Drakenstein — the final prison where Mandela was held before his release in 1990 — the government has symbolically linked South Africa’s painful past with its ongoing commitment to justice reform and human dignity.
The launch not only marks a historic anniversary but reinforces Mandela’s enduring message: that even within prison walls, dignity and humanity must prevail.
Melissa Enoch
