State records show that 2,949 prisoners were hanged on the gallows at Pretoria Central Prison before a moratorium was declared by President de Klerk in 1990. 4,003 prisoners spent time on death row, amongst them one of Khulumani's founder members, Mr Duma Kumalo, one of the Sharpeville Six. (See Duma's testimony at the TRC about his wrongful conviction for the murder of Councillor Dlamini on the grounds of testimony elicited from a Sharpeville resident through torture.)

Before Duma's untimely passing in February 2006, Duma visited the gallows and climbed those last 52 steps to reach the gallows, as part of his desire to deal with the memories of his several years on death row that continued to haunt him every night after his release from death row. Duma told the story of his experiences on death row in a deeply moving play called "He Left Quietly" which was workshopped by himself with Yael Farber. (See photos/intro to "He Left Quietly" on farberfoundry.com).

President Mandela requested a private viewing of the play and told Duma that it was his calling to continue advocacy against the death penalty wherever it is practised in the world using this theatre piece. Amnesty International also commissioned a film that told Duma's story as part of their global campaign against the death penalty. The film is called Facing Death, Facing Life and was produced by Ingrid Gavshon. (Visit the Duma Kumalo Facebook page.)

The Minister has explained that the names of all 4,003 inmates of death row will be engraved on plaques to be displayed around the rebuilt gallows and that she has planned a "day of healing" for relatives of the hanged and staff who worked there to come together to share their stories.

While this may provide some relief to former staff who worked on death row, Khulumani is deeply concerned that the real need of families of the hanged will not be addressed in this way. Khulumani calls on the Minister to commit to providing resources for families to come to Pretoria for the exhumation of their loved ones from the Mamelodi Cemetery where most of the hanged were buried so that they can fetch the remains of their loved ones and can take them home to be buried. This is what families need for their restoration from the trauma of having a loved one executed. This is what would constitute real restitution for families of the hanged.

Minister Mapisa-Nqakula, we appeal to you to consider the real needs of the families of the hanged and to enable their requests to have the bodies of their loved ones returned to their homes for burial by the families themselves.

The need of offiicials of the department who were involved in the processes of what became called "the death factory" need to be secondary to the needs of the families of those whose lives were taken away by the state.

Khulumani agrees with the perspective of Ms Iris Baltsoucos who in an article published in the November 5, 2011 edition of The Saturday Star, called "Macabre memories never die", expresses her doubts that refurbishing the gallows and making the prison a museum will help the families of victims find healing and closure. In the article, Ms Baltsoucos shared the story of her visits to prisoner Edian Ntuli, a former Kwa Thema police officer who in a situation similar to that faced by Khulumani founder, Duma Kumalo, was framed for a crime he said he did not commit.

The horror of the death penalty is the fact that it is irreversible and that the sentence may be prone to human error, just as in the recent case of Mr Troy Davis, recently executed in the United States. The death penalty is a barbaric punishment that dehumanises every person associated with its implementation, as witnessed by the need of former prison warders to want to exorcise their memories of what they were involved in on Pretoria Central's death row.