Why Mahatma Gandhi's Old Prison Now Houses South Africa's Highest Court
Constitution Hill was built as a fort by Paul Kruger between 1896 and 1899 to defend the South African Republic against British invasion, later becoming a prison complex. Its Number Four section, opened in 1904 to house sentenced non-white male prisoners, held inmates including Mahatma Gandhi, anti-apartheid leader Robert Sobukwe, and students from the 1976 Soweto uprising, operating from 1902 to 1983. In 1995, South Africa's Constitutional Court justices chose this site for their permanent home; most of the prison was demolished, but its original stairwells were preserved and incorporated into the new courthouse as a deliberate reminder of what the site once was.
Why Gandhi's imprisonment here connects two distinct historical struggles
Gandhi was held in Number Four before his later work in India, a documented chapter of his own history in South Africa, directly tied to this specific site rather than a separate, disconnected legacy.
Why keeping the original stairwells was a deliberate symbolic choice
Rather than demolishing everything, the decision to preserve these specific structural elements was an intentional design choice meant to keep the site's history visible within the new court building.
Why the 81-year operational span of Number Four reflects sustained, genuine use
It ran from 1902 to 1983, a genuinely long, continuous period of use, not a short-lived facility, holding successive generations of prisoners across changing political eras.
What This Means for Planning a Visit
The practical takeaway is that a visit covers three separate prison museums, Number Four, the Women's Gaol, and the Old Fort, worth planning time for all three rather than assuming a single combined exhibit. Johannesburg's own practical visiting details, including the honest distance to the Cradle of Humankind, are covered on the city's main page.