Speaker Anita Among has called on lawmakers to prioritize the improvement of the Prison facilities by appropriating sufficient funds in the 2023/2024 financial year budget to address issues of congestion in prisons
The speaker and members of parliament have expressed concerns over increased congestion in prisons arising from a shortage of facilities and case backlog.
Among, who was presiding over today’s House sitting, told parliament that she had received terrifying concerns about congestion in prisons from the Commissioner General of Uganda Prison Services Dr. Johnson Byabashaija who cried out to parliament to do the needful.
Legislators decried the appalling state of prison facilities and acknowledged the need to improve them by addressing cases of case backlog.
Lawmakers claim the long stay of inmates in prison is one cause of congestion in prison facilities; advising the government to give attention to non-custodial sentences.
As of 4th July 2023, the Prison Population stood at 76,083 inmates of 72507 males and 3,576 females representing a prison occupancy rate of 374.4%. However, some MPs suggest that the focus should be put on tackling the high unemployment of youths, saying that the majority of prisoners are youths who are forced into criminal activities.
They urged the government to scale up the Skilling Uganda program to all regions of the country to create an enabling environment for youths to own and sustain small and medium enterprises to keep them from engaging in crime.
The Minister of State for Industry, David Bahati, said that several measures have been implemented to address youth unemployment including the commercialization of agriculture, industrialization, and the service sector.
The prison population has grown to over double in the past 10 years from 35,564 in the 2012/2013 financial year to 76,083 inmates in 2023 representing an annual population growth rate of 8%.
