ABSTRACT
This chapter seeks to cast some light on what we do and do not know about prisons in Africa. It describes the use of imprisonment, prison conditions and the position of imprisonment in the wider criminal justice system in sub-Saharan Africa, and concludes with a brief summary of the trends and themes that we have presented. The chapter serves less as a review of the available literature and more as a discussion of how prisons in Africa might be approached analytically. One way of explaining patterns of similarity and difference is to trace local and regional histories of how prisons change and endure. A number of organizations were at the forefront of both reform-oriented advocacy and analysis of prisons in South Africa. For example the Centre for the Study of Violence and Reconciliation, the Civil Society Prison Reform Initiative, and the Institute for Security Studies. Many of the available studies have emanated from scholars and activists associated with these organizations.
