By Wezzie Gausi:
The death of a juvenile, who had allegedly attempted to escape from Bvumbwe Young Offenders Rehabilitation Centre in Thyolo District, has sparked outrage from human rights organisations who suspect torture.
Kondwani Harry died at the correctional facility, where he reportedly attempted to escape together with a colleague, Southern Region Prisons spokesperson Julius Magombo has confirmed.
But Centre for Human Rights Education, Advice and Assistance (Chreaa) and Centre for Human Rights and Rehabilitation (CHRR) suspect that the death could be a sign of torture, which they say goes unreported.
Magombo said in an interview that two young offenders went missing at the rehabilitation centre around 4:40pm on Friday last week and hid in the ceiling.
“After noticing the missing of the two, a search was launched. They had to cut the iron sheet to break and creep through the prison wall.
“One prisoner was found and the officers followed some blood stains that led to a fence of a nearby house where they also recaptured the other prisoner. They were taken back to the cell where the other prisoner revealed that he was injured by the iron sheet when he was forcing himself out,” Magombo said.
He added that the following morning, officers discovered that the other prisoner was critically ill, such that he was rushed to hospital where he died.
“We are yet to conduct a post-mortem to establish the real cause of the death. But we assume the prisoner may have lost blood due to the cut he sustained or shock after falling from the high prison wall,” the publicist said.
But in separate interviews, Chreaa Executive Director Victor Mhango and his counterpart at CHRR Michael Kaiyatsa argued that prisoners might be subjected to cruel treatment and that the same might have been exacted on Harry.
Mhango described the death as “brutal and tragic” and evidence of the “inhumane practices in places of detention”.
He said the actions which led to the death were avoidable as “the use of excessive force is prohibited by both national and international standards”.
“As a law enforcement agency, officers of the prison service have the duty to respect and protect the right to life of people under their control in all circumstances.
“We, therefore, call upon relevant authorities to conduct swift investigation into the matter and make sure that the officers involved in this brutal act are brought to book,” Mhango said.
Kaiyatsa also called for investigations into the Harry’s death to establish what caused the “prison break” and bring culprits to book.
“We need to understand that not only is this an unfortunate loss of life, but it also involves a juvenile, who needs protection. So, we call for an investigation into the matter as this whole issue also puts into question the security of the rehabilitation centre itself,” Kaiyatsa said.
Meanwhile, Malawi Human Rights Commission Regional Human Rights Coordinator for the South, Victor Sindani Khwima, has disclosed that the commission is investigating the circumstances that led to Harry’s death.
