This article was originally published on Malawi24 ">Malawi24, Malawi's #1 independent news platform. The Centre for Democracy and Economic Development Initiatives (CDEDI) has asked President Arthur Peter Mutharika to issue Presidential Orders aimed at improving conditions in Malawi’s correctional facilities. CDEDI Executive Director Sylvester Namiwa made the call in Lilongwe on Wednesday while reading a letter addressed to Mutharika, outlining what the organization describes as serious challenge
The Centre for Democracy and Economic Development Initiatives (CDEDI) has asked President Arthur Peter Mutharika to issue Presidential Orders aimed at improving conditions in Malawi’s correctional facilities.
CDEDI Executive Director Sylvester Namiwa made the call in Lilongwe on Wednesday while reading a letter addressed to Mutharika, outlining what the organization describes as serious challenges facing inmates and remandees.
The organization says the reforms are necessary to ensure that prisons serve their intended purpose of rehabilitating inmates and preparing them for reintegration into society.
Namiwa said CDEDI’s appeal builds on Mutharika’s recent 12-month pardon, which the organisation says helped decongest the country’s prisons.
“Prisons are correctional facilities that are meant to rehabilitate and subsequently help to reintegrate inmates back into society. Surely, prisons are correctional facilities, not facilities for punishing citizens caught on the wrong side of the law,” Namiwa said.
The organization has asked the President to consider introducing duty allowances for junior prison officers who work directly with inmates and remandees.
According to CDEDI, such allowances could help curb alleged cases of officers demanding money from inmates in exchange for basic necessities such as food and blankets.
The organisation has also called for similar duty allowances for junior police officers handling suspects in police cells.
“Junior police officers handling suspects in police cells should also qualify for duty pay to let them desist from exploiting suspects by demanding money from them to make calls to inform their family members or lawyers about their arrest,” Namiwa said.
CDEDI further wants the Malawi Police Service to recruit lawyers to handle prosecution matters, arguing that some suspects spend years on remand because prosecutors are away on study leave or cases are abandoned.
The organization has also called for a nationwide audit of prisons to establish accurate records of inmates, including the reasons for their incarceration.
Namiwa said some suspects are occupying prison space simply because they cannot afford to pay small fines, citing cases involving amounts as low as K5,000.
CDEDI has further urged government to improve the quality of food served to inmates, arguing that a diet dominated by maize meal and beans does not adequately meet their nutritional needs.
The organization wants old prison cells replaced with modern facilities, saying overcrowding and inadequate sanitation are compromising inmates’ dignity.
CDEDI claims that more than 90 remandees at Maula Prison are currently sleeping on a bare floor measuring about four square metres.
The organization has therefore urged Mutharika to act on the concerns, saying the measures would help Malawi develop a more effective, professional and responsive correctional service.
