Avoid prison at all costs: 2800 people squeeze into Maula in a place of 800 people

Jun 17, 2016 Politics 54
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Maula Prison

If you like some space and privacy in your life then just make sure you avoid offending the law, Malawi24 can advise.

Authorities at Maula Prison says the facility is congested, a situation which has led to increased demand for food, other items and easy transmission of contagious infections and illnesses.

The prison’s officer in-charge Kalirani Mwale said this during a meeting with traditional leaders and community members at Nsaru Trading Centre in Lilongwe.

The meeting was held as part of the Adult Diversion Project which is being implemented by the Catholic Commission for Justice and Peace (CCJP).

Maula Prison
Maula Prison congested.

Mwale said Maula is the biggest prison facility in the central region and was designed to accommodate 800 inmates but now it has 2800 prisoners. More than two times double the figure it had to accommodate.

He added that the facility requires bags of flour and nine bags of beans per day but what they get from government is very little.

According to Mwale, the Adult Diversion Project – which advocates for elimination of prison sentences for smaller offences – will help in alleviating challenges that the institution together with other prisons is facing.

In his remarks, CCJP monitoring and evaluating officer Enock Kamundi said under the project, the organisation will ensure that justice is done without necessarily sending the suspects to prison.

Kamundi said: “Some of the offences that people commit do not necessarily require a prison sentence as they can be dealt with by traditional leaders.”

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54 Comments

  6. Stupid govt, hw can u convict someone for years for stealing a mere chicken yet his expense for being in prison is a trillion times than that of a chicken? Stop complaining of food shortages, find a way of dealing with small offenders.

  12. additionally, courts should conclude some cases of those who are on remand. More so, those convicted of misdemeanors should , perhaps, serve COMMUNITY SERVICE other than imprisonment eg stealing sth worth less than k5000 and such other offences.

  13. My opinion on this matter is that there is need to construct more prisons in Malawi. Most of the prisons that are operational in Malawi were built during Kamuzu Banda’s era. By then the population of Malawi was very small. Just like Universities, secondary schools, hospitals, etc most of such infrastructure was constructed during KB. However, the rapid increase in population over the years has created overcrowding in such facilities. The purse of infrastructural development is at a snails pace than the reproduction rate among humanity. Consequently, the appalling overcrowding we are experiencing in prisons. Policymakers shud allocate some funds towards the construction of PRISONS in Malawi.

  23. I wonder why it takes time for someone to realize that government is wasting resources in prisons. imagine a murder suspect lives in jail more than 8 years without trial (remanded). In this status they are not prisoners hence cannot be used by prison for labour but uses the services (water, food, security, electricity etc) for free instead of convicting them quicker to tap their contributions! And courts need to substitute custodial sentences for either fines, suspended sentence or imprisonment with light labor outside the prison. In addition, it is better to convert prisons into rehabilitation centers well equipped to change a person holistic life to reduce ‘ukabwelwbwele’.

  26. Ndinamangidwapo mpaka kugwira ukaidi wa zaka 5,ndipo ndili ndi umboni wakuti anthu ambiri ali ku ndende pa nkhani zosazidziwa,kapena kuti kunamizilidwa kuti apalamula.zili ngati kwa ena amene ali ndi matenda a AIDS amene anawatenga kuchokera kwa a mayi awo pobadwa,ndiye winu azikamuuza munthuyo kuti ‘samaziteteza’ pogonana…..kwa amane amapalamulira dala zikumveka.

  29. Poor people can’t avoid prison becoz we don’t have money to speak for us unlike with rich people whom their cases took more than 3 years to be completed.

  31. Zina zimaza chifukwa cha mkwiyo how can u invite visitors if u don’t hav a house to stay? U wil end up mistreating them when they arrive

  34. some even go there without offending the law just like biblical John the Baptist or Joseph in Egypt. So it’s unavoidable. by standing for the truth you may find yourself there

  35. Apopo Muti Avoid Prizon Bt Those Who Deserve It Are Home And Dry Bt Ophweka Ati Amenyana Ku Mowa?Ati He Steal A Sugarcane,a Chicken,cassava Its Jst A Matter Of Hunger At That Particular Day And U Exitedly Dump Them Into Prizon Shame On Dumpers?

  37. Nde Amamatana Ponatu Pardon Ozula Chinangwa,oba Mkhuku,onamiziridwa,omenyana,komanso Ongoganiziridwa!I Can Help You Ngati Apolisi Abweretsa Munthu Muzengeni Akhoti Bt Pali Milandu Ina Yofunika Counceling!Inu Apolice Study Physcology At A Hiegher Level Anthu Mudzithana Nawo Ku Cell Komko Bt Atleast #OPHA ANTHU,#OGWIRIRA,#CASHGATE Nde Malo Awo Amenewo Pali Timilandu Tina Guys Munthu Amangolakwitsa Pang’ono Kuzula Chinangwa Uli Njala Basi APOLICE MA MAGISTRATE JIJIRIJIJIRI KUWERUZA OBA 1. CHAKUTI BILLION KUMANGOTI ZUNGULIZUNGULI!BASI KUGWIRA OTI AMADYA MZIMBE DIMBA LA ENI NDI CHIKONDI KAYA!

  38. ( Avoid prison at all cost) heheheh, you must be joking. You can avoid offending the law at all cost, but what you should know is that a certain %ge of prisoners are there for crimes that they never committed, but because they are poor and cant afford a lawyer, they are spending years in prison which is very bad.

  40. Guy’s enanu ndi anyamata nkutheka sizinakuonekeleni koma nthawi ikubwela kapena muzabereka…some niccaa in ngosalakwa poti alibe wowayankhulira ndi ndalama nchifukwa anamangidwa, ena or kunamilizidwa nkumene. Ili ndi dziko, mwina mbale wanu kapena inu mukaxamangidwa muzasiya

    1. Like I said sikuti anthu onsewa ndi akuba. Ndende ndi yamunthu aliyense onamizilidwa. Akuba. Ongofanana ndi akuba. And so on let’s not make funny of these?

  45. Do you think all these people are thieves? It’s something you can not avoid when it’s coming to you. Some are there just because they were mistaken for someone who commited the crime. Don’t think that you can avoid prison you are a man, mind you.

    1. Some of those people are innocent.they are there because of somebody who has a fat pocket.let me warn you News 24;you can’t avoid jail,being a man or woman.that place is only for the poor.does it mean that the rich dont break the law?not at all but their money speaks for them

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