Residents in Mulanje Central are demanding answers after claims emerged that former inmates released under a recent prisoner release programme vandalised community infrastructure and attacked an NGO office.
People’s Development Party (PDP) president and Mulanje Central Member of Parliament Kondwani Nankhumwa has alleged that some of the released ex-convicts destroyed 10 boreholes and attacked an NGO office in his constituency soon after regaining their freedom
Raising the matter in Parliament on Monday, Nankhumwa said communities were already experiencing increased criminal activity following the release of hundreds of prisoners who had their sentences reduced.
He claimed that 10 boreholes were vandalised in a single night in Mulanje Central, while an NGO office at Mulanje Boma was also broken into.
According to the legislator, three people arrested over the NGO office break-in were among inmates recently released from Mulanje Prison.
Nankhumwa questioned what government intended to achieve through the early release of the prisoners, saying the decision had left communities vulnerable to crime.
“I would have wished that such a decision by the Ministry could be reviewed at all costs because it’s not looking well in our communities,” he told Parliament.
Responding, Minister of Homeland Security Peter Mukhito acknowledged that some recently released prisoners had been linked to fresh criminal cases, saying the Malawi Police Service was currently overwhelmed by such incidents.
He said government is engaging the Malawi Prison Service on the matter, adding that inadequate resources for prisoner rehabilitation had contributed to recidivism, where former offenders commit crimes again after their release.
