TANZANIA: Number of prisoners, remandees exceeds prison capacity by 23pc

 By Bernard Lugongo, The Citizen Reporter

Dar es Salaam. 

The current number of prisoners and remandees exceeds prisons capacity by 23 per cent.

The statistics shows that currently prisons accommodate 36, 552 prisoners and remand prisoners against their capacity of holding 29, 400 prisoners and remand prisoners.

According to the Parliamentary Committee for Defence, Security and Foreign Affairs, poor case flow management and lack of communication between prisons department, police and investigators were cited as major factors for delays of cases in courts, which lead to congestion in prisons.

The Committee remarked this yesterday during the ongoing committees’ meeting at the Parliament Sub-Offices in Dar es Salaam.

When briefing journalists yesterday the chairman of the Committee, Mr Edward Lowassa, said that the country’s prisons were overcrowded with large numbers of remand prisoners.

“These institutions have no tendency of meeting aimed at facilitating speedy judgements of cases pending in files,” Mr Lowassa said.

The committee observed that cases facing many of the remand prisoners were minor as they could be immediately concluded and the guilty could be given alternative punishments other than put them in jail, which as a result leads to overcrowding.

“Most of them don’t face major cases as you can find that some of them are charged with stealing chicken and loitering. The Committee’s views, this is not a proper way of solving problems,” he said.

Mr Lowassa noted that the bad condition at Segerea Prison was evidenced last week when the committee visited the area.

Segerea Prison contains over 2, 400 remand prisoners against 98, the situation has raised fresh concerns over rampant delays of judgement of cases in the country.

He further said that the Committee established that over 90 per cent of prisoners and remand prisoners were young people.

It noted that since the young people were more spoilt while in prison, it was important to consider an alternative punishment in order to rescue such crucial human resource for the country’s development.

The Committee proposed that the government should also consider providing prisoners right to information as directed in the International Laws.

It also advised the government to give importance on establishing juvenile courts.

“It seems that the government undermined the issue of juvenile courts, though they are important,” he said.

Recent findings of a report on inspection of children in detention facilities conducted by the Commission for Human Rights and Good Governance (CHRGG) in Tanzania also paints a different picture and raises serious questions over Tanzania’s commitment in protecting the rights of children.

Source: The Citizen (21/01/2013): http://www.thecitizen.co.tz/news/4-national-news/28301-number-of-prisoners-remandees-exceeds-prison-capacity-by-23pc