The congestion and food shortage crises in the country’s prisons have compelled the Catholic Commission for Justice and Peace (CCJP) in partnership with other stakeholders to intensify the fight that petty crimes should be resolved at community level.
Together with the judiciary, the Legal Aid Bureau, the police and the Paralegal Advisory Services Institute (Pasi), among others, through a project called Adult Diversion, CCJP wants justice on petty crimes to be realised using traditional means like arbitration, with restitution still not compromised.
Currently, congestion has gripped the country’s major correctional facilities with Maula Prison in Lilongwe registering around 2800 inmates against its 800-inmate capacity.
And in an interview after a meeting with communities in the area of Senior Chief Kabudula in Lilongwe, CCJP Monitoring and Evaluation Officer Enock Kamundi said addressing differences at community level can help tackle some of the problems prisons are facing.
He said through the project, which is being implemented in the Central Region, communities are being sensitised on how diverting petty crimes works and its corresponding advantages if properly utilised.
“Our aim is to ensure prisons and police cells are not congested, so we are trying to sensitise the people so that they can resolve some petty cases at community level by discussing among themselves,” said Kamundi.
He added that elsewhere, the initiative has significantly helped in reducing congestion apart from making sure the victim regains what they lost, in terms of property.
Officer-in-Charge of Maula Prison Kalirani Mwale said the correctional facility, which holds more than three times the number of inmates it was designed for, is failing to optimally provide food for the prisoners.
And in response to suggestions that the inmates should engage in certain income-generating activities, Mwale said under the current laws, the arrangement is not legal.
Under the Open Society Initiative for Southern Africa (Osisa)-funded project, petty cases which have already been referred to the prosecuting agencies can be diverted so that they are resolved at community level.
Meanwhile, some civil society organisations (CSOs) have asked President Peter Mutharika to intervene in the prison food crisis by releasing inmates convicted of minor crimes.
The organisations want Mutharika to exercise his prerogative under Section 89 of the Constitution to pardon and/or order the immediate release of certain categories of prisoners to decongest the correctional facilities and reduce pressure on limited resources.
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