The Director of Prisons was the head of the Rhodesia Prison Service, responsible for the administration of prisons in Southern Rhodesia and later Rhodesia. The post was established in 1954 as the head of the Federal Prison Service of the Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland, and became head of the Southern Rhodesia Prison Service upon the Federation's dissolution in 1963. In 1965, upon Rhodesia's independence from the United Kingdom, it became the Rhodesia Prison Service. In 1980, upon Zimbabwe's independence, the office was nullified and replaced by the Director of the Zimbabwe Prison Services.
| Director of Prisons | |
|---|---|
.svg) | |
| Inaugural holder | David Charles Cameron |
| Formation | 1954 |
| Final holder | Frank Leslie Patch |
| Abolished | 1980 |
History
editPrior to 1954, prisons in Southern Rhodesia were administered by the Southern Rhodesia Prison Department (SRPD).[1] On 30 November 1954, the Federal Assembly of the Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland passed the Prisons Department Act (49/1954), which incorporated the SRPD into the Federal Prison Service (FPS), effective 1 December 1954.[2] This arrangement continued until December 1963, when the Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland dissolved and autonomy was returned to the individual colonies of Southern Rhodesia, Northern Rhodesia, and Nyasaland, the latter two of which gained independence in 1964 as Zambia and Malawi, respectively. From 1963, the service continued as the Southern Rhodesia Prison Service (SRPS).[1] In 1965, shortly before Rhodesia's unilateral declaration of independence from the United Kingdom, the SRPS began using the name Rhodesia Prison Service.[1]
In 1980, upon Zimbabwe's independence, the RPS was dissolved and superseded by the Zimbabwe Prison Services.
List of directors
editThe follow list of Directors of Prisons includes those from the Southern Rhodesia Prison Service, the Federal Prison Service, and the Rhodesia Prison Service.[3]
| Name | Appointment | End of term | |
|---|---|---|---|
| David Charles Cameron | 1 December 1954 | 1 April 1963 | Federal Prison Service |
| David Philips | Acting: 1 April 1963 | 1 December 1963 | Southern Rhodesia Prison Service |
| 1 December 1963 | 1964 | ||
| Hendrik Stephanus Bezuidenhout | 29 August 1965 | 1968 | Rhodesia Prison Service |
| Frank Leslie Patch | 1968 | 1980 |
References
edit- ^ a b c "RPS Home Page". www.rhodesianprisonservices.co.za. Retrieved 15 December 2017.
- ^ Beadle, Hugh (1963). The statute law of Southern Rhodesia, in force on or made before the 30th day of April, 1963. Printed by Mardon Rhodesian Printers. pp. 309–10.
- ^ "RPS Heads of Service". www.rhodesianprisonservices.co.za. Retrieved 17 December 2017.