Prisons get tractors to ease inmates’ work

Uganda Prisons Service has commissioned 12 tractors that will be used in food production to prevent famine in the country.

Speaking Tuesday at Luzira Prisons in Kampala, Mr Samuel Akena, the Deputy Commissioner General of Prisons said the move is also to make the work of the prisoners lighter.

"The people of Uganda have entrusted us with these machines because they know that we can handle them. Yes, we are keeping prisoners but we want their work to be lighter. We want prisoners to do the lighter part of the rehabilitation. In their rehabilitation, they should for example know how to prepare gardens, plant in lines, and harvest on time," he said.

"Why should we die of hunger in this country, what are we not doing right? We have the land, the weather is not bad, we have human resources, and the economy is growing. We should have a better life, but we can't have a better life if people are sleeping hungry and some are even dying of hunger," Mr Akena added.

Mr Amos Turyashaba, the Commissioner in Charge of Farms at Prisons, expressed that receiving the equipment was special for them. He mentioned that acquiring this machinery would strengthen their efforts in contributing to the cause of national food security.

"We were given 33,300 hectares of land with 30,000 hectares in Aswa alone to ensure food security, stable food prices, available feeds for the animals," he said.

A 2022 Human Rights and Freedoms report showed that over 2000 people died of hunger in the Karamoja sub-region.