Judges task govt to end congestion in prisons

Court of Appeal judge Kenneth Kakuru has urged government to construct more prison facilities to decongest the already existing ones that carry about three times their required capacity.

Justice Kakuru made the call on Monday at Katojo prison in Fort Portal.He was in the company of two of fellow justices Christopher Madrama and Irene Mulyagonja ahead of a criminal session they were to hold in the area.

“There are many solutions to reduce congestion in prisons. One, you can build bigger prisons, you can admit more people on bail and people can be encouraged to use plea bargain and have their sentences reduced,” Justice Kakuru advised.

He further advised that government can appoint more judicial officers to quickly hear the cases.
Katojo prison has a holding inmate capacity of 600. However, it is currently accommodating 1,878 inmates, according to the officer-in-charge, Mr Patrick Busuulwa.

Mr Busuulwa said the ratio of inmates to prison wardens is supposed to be 1:3 but is now at 1:16 due to the congestion.

The three justices are in the area to hear out 40 criminal appeals.
Of the 40 appeal cases, that will be hard in one week, sexual offences top the cause list with 20 cases.

The cause list also has four appeals cases of aggravated robbery, 15 cases of murder and one of rape.
The one-week long criminal session will be virtually held, with inmates at Katojo prison appearing before the judges via video conferencing.

“We are a panel of three justices who have come to listen to the appeals that originate from the judgments of the High Court,” Justice Kakuru said.

Uganda has the second overcrowded prisons in Africa with more than 55,229 inmates.
An Internal Affairs’ ministerial statement for this financial year indicates that the prisons holding capacity is 17,304 inmates.

“Congestion/occupancy levels increased from 306.9 per cent to 319.2 per cent due to a 4.1 per cent increase in prisoners. The population is at 55,229 prisoners,” the statement reads.