President Ramaphosa to officially open the Nelson Mandela Rules Training Academy

President Cyril Ramaphosa will on Wednesday, 11 February 2026, officially open the Nelson Mandela Rules Training Academy at the Drakenstein Correctional Facility in the Western Cape.

Drakenstein Correctional Facility, formerly known as Victor Verster Prison, holds profound historical significance as the place from which Nelson Mandela walked to freedom on 10 February 1990.

That historic walk marked a decisive turning point in South Africa’s journey towards democracy, culminating in the election of Nelson Mandela as the country’s first democratically elected President in 1994.

On 11 February, President Ramaphosa will pay a visit to the Madiba House, which housed Nelson Mandela during the final years of his imprisonment.

The President will thereafter officially open the Nelson Mandela Rules Training Academy, the first of its kind, reaffirming South Africa’s leadership role in advancing human rights, humane correctional practices, and the protection of the dignity and rights of offenders.

The year 2026 marks 11 years since the adoption of the United Nations Standard Minimum Rules for the Treatment of Prisoners (the Nelson Mandela Rules) and 16 years since the adoption of the United Nations Rules for the Treatment of Women Prisoners and Non-custodial Measures for Women Offenders (the Bangkok Rules).

These international instruments provide practical standards that call for the humanisation of correctional systems, recognition of inherent human dignity, and the advancement of justice anchored in humanity.

The establishment of the Nelson Mandela Rules Training Academy reflects South Africa’s continued commitment to embedding these principles within correctional training and practice.

The country will work closely with the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), as the custodian of the Nelson Mandela Rules, to ensure their effective implementation.

President Ramaphosa will officially open the Nelson Mandela Rules Training Academy as follows:

Date: Wednesday, 11 February 2026
Time: 08h00
Venue: Drakenstein Correctional Facility, Western Cape

Members of the media are invited to rsvp to Khutjo Sebata on Khutjo@presidency.gov.za / 079 898 4621 and Mocheta Monama on Mocheta.Monama@dcs.gov.za by Monday, 09 February 2026 at 17h00. 

Media enquiries: Vincent Magwenya, Spokesperson to the President - media@presidency.gov.za

Issued by: The Presidency
Pretoria