Ramaphosa launches Nelson Mandela Rules Academy at prison

President Cyril Ramaphosa on Wednesday marked 36 years since Nelson Mandela’s release from prison by launching a new training academy at the Drakenstein Correctional Facility, where the former president was once held.

The Nelson Mandela Rules Training Academy is the first facility in Africa dedicated exclusively to the United Nations Standard Minimum Rules for the Treatment of Prisoners, widely known as the Nelson Mandela Rules. The guidelines promote dignity, fairness and humane treatment for people deprived of their liberty.

Jane Marie Ong’olo, Regional Representative of the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, said Mandela’s legacy continues to shape global 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,” she said. “His legacy lives on through the United Nations standard minimum rules for the treatment of prisoners.”

Ramaphosa described the academy as a knowledge hub not only for South Africa but for the wider Southern African region and the global correctional community. “I am told this is the first such facility of its kind on the African continent,” he said.

The academy will focus on education, skills development and rehabilitation programmes designed to prepare inmates for reintegration into society, while also supporting those serving long sentences to pursue personal growth and self-improvement in line with Mandela’s enduring values.