 |
|
Mr Mandela
was transferred from Robben Island to Pollsmoor in 1982 Photo: AFP
|
More than 4,000 people
are being evacuated from South Africa's Pollsmoor prison, where Nelson Mandela
was once incarcerated, after a rat infestation caused the death of at least one
prisoner, officials say.
"We
have been fumigating the place, but as of now, we are moving the prisoners to
other locations, and it will take some days to complete," said prisons
spokesman Manelisi Wolela. The infection, known as leptospirosis, is carried in
rat urine.
BBC reports the
Police and Prisons Civil Rights Union said conditions at the facility were
over-crowded and "inhumane".
Health
officials said no-one should return to the prison until it had been cleared of
all rats.
Mr
Mandela was imprisoned at Pollsmoor in the 1980s for his role in fighting apartheid.
He became South Africa's
first black president in 1994.
No comments:
Post a Comment