Uganda Prison Authorities Want More Prisons
PARLIAMENT – Uganda Prisons Services has proposed the construction of sixteen new regional mini-maximum to reduce inmate congestion. According to Mr Elly Muhumuza, the Commissioner Planning & Development, Uganda Prisons, the current facilities are congested five time the planned capacity.
In a meeting with the Parliament’s Internal Affairs Committee, Muhumuza said whereas Uganda’s population is growing at a rate of 3 percent, the population in prisons is growing at 8 percent.
“This growth in the number of inmates with no significant increase in the budget has impacted on feeding, housing, sanitation, utilities like water, medicare, uniforms and delivery of inmates to courts of law,” he said.
Adding, “Each mini-max prison costs around Shs102.9 billion, while three lower security prisons require Shs24 billlion. Some prisons are accommodating five times above the designed capacities. To solve that, we need to adopt the Kitalya Prison model, our plan is to construct at least one prison that accommodates at least 4000 inmate in each off the sixteen regions,” said Muhumuza.
He was part of the Uganda Prisons Service officials appearing before Parliament December 12th to update MPs on the prisons facilities. Uganda Prisons currently holds capacity off 20,996.
He said the current capacity of 20,996 inmates is against the 76,467 inmates being held in all prisons across the country by 3rd December 2023, meaning there the current congestion levels stand at 55,471 inmates.
Muhumuza said prison management is grappling with feeding of inmates choked with food arrears amounting to Shs79.94 billion which has accumulated since 2022/2023 financial.
He said prisons spends averagely Shs5000 to feed inmate per day.
Prison management submitted a supplementary request to a tune of Shs158.943 billion, only Shs79 bilion was recently approved by Parliament, meaning they will be operating with a shortfall of Shs943 billion.
However, a section of lawmakers including Alex Niyonsaba, Bufumbira South and Ibanda Rwemulikya, Ntoroko County urged the government to consider the proposal to release all political prisoners as a measure of reducing congestion in prison facilities.
