I’ve been to Constitution Hill on various occasions over the past few years, to attend events and business meetings, but have only seen small parts of the precinct. Recently, however, I was lucky enough to go on a guided tour through the precinct and can highly recommend it as a must-do for any visitor to Johannesburg.

There are multiple elements to explore, so be prepared to spend some time here.

THE MEMORIAL

The ConHill precinct is primarily a memorial to the many lives that were contained within the walls of the Old Fort, Women’s Jail and Number Four prisons that made up South Africa’s first high-security prison.

Sections of the precinct, particularly the cells, which were once brimming with people incarcerated for criminal acts, and those sent there for defying the apartheid laws of the day, have been left mostly as they were.

Moving through the massive entry door to the Old Fort, formerly the Johannesburg Jail, I imagined the sense of doom the door must have heralded for anyone entering the premises during South Africa’s apartheid years.

Then there are stark relics of the black prisoners’ daily lives – the long-drop toilets right in the communal outside eating area, and the eight outside showers where all 2 000 prisoners were given just 30 minutes a day, collectively, to have a cold shower.

Blankets shaped in the form of sleeping bodies show how the prisoners were forced to sleep head-to-toe in overcrowded prison cells.

In the isolation cells section, even looking up to the sky provided no relief from being locked in, as barbed wire was spanned across the top of the cells.

There’s a drawing on a blanket, of a game the prisoners played to keep themselves occupied during the long hours of being kept in their cells. The peeling, crumbling paint on the walls of the cells adds to the desolation of the place.

For me it was a depiction of a slice of cake served as a Christmas treat that broke my heart – not actually the slice that was there, but rather the absence of a slice of cake on the other prisoner’s plate.

This was just too stark an image of how cruelly black inmates were treated compared to their white counterparts. Even on Christmas Day, universally recognised as a day of peace and goodwill, the cruelty did not let up.

Another poignant moment for me was the video story by a former prisoner, who recounted how every night all the prisoners would sing the national anthem and the complex would reverberate as a result.

When we visited the isolation section, I asked if I could go into the number 13 cell and close the door behind me, to see just why this was considered a lucky cell by the prisoners. Prisoners confined to No.13 were considered lucky because the tiny opening in the door allowed them a glimpse into the communal area, so they had something to see other than just the brick walls that the other isolation cells looked out onto.

THE STORIES

The highlight of the tour, however, was the Constitutional Court, South Africa’s highest court and a global symbol of democracy. The court is magnificent, with loads of symbolism in the design of the space and the decorative elements throughout.

From the court you can also look out onto the Flame of Democracy, an eternal flame that marks South Africa’s journey from its dark past to democracy. The story is that former president Nelson Mandela was too sick to travel from his home in Qunu in the Eastern Cape to Johannesburg to light the Flame of Democracy, so he lit a candle and the flame was transported in the horn of a kudu to Johannesburg to light the Flame.

There are many such stories throughout the precinct that makes a visit to Constitution Hill so rewarding.

I highly recommend spending time watching the recordings that are screened throughout the precinct, which document the stories of former inmates who survived to tell the tale of one of South Africa’s most notorious and brutal institutions.