Mzuzu prisoners sleep while seated
Prisoners at Mzuzu Prison sleep while seated because of lack of space, Officer-in-Charge for Mzuzu Prison Harrings Nyalubwe has disclosed.
He was speaking on Saturday when Mzuzu Lions Club donated various foodstuffs to the prison for young offenders and women inmates who also included two innocent babies.
“Space is a big problem here. A cell which was designed to accommodate five inmates is now keeping 26 inmates. They sleep while seated,” said Nyalubwe in one of the said cells as he took the visitors around the premises.
Nyalubwe asked the club to help complete two structures meant to accommodate more inmates, saying once finished, overcrowding would be defeated. One of the structures was initiated by former vice president Khumbo Kachali and is yet to be completed. When completed, Nyalubwe said, it would accommodate 250 inmates. The other structure which would accommodate another 200 inmates is constructed by Centre for Legal Assistance (Cela).
Nyalubwe said Mzuzu Prison as of yesterday had 596 inmates against the capacity of 250.
As we walked around the premises, inmates literally lay on their mats.
Mzuzu Lions Club President, Victor Gondwe, pledged his club’s assistance to the prison, saying the living conditions were appalling and pathetic.
He also decried the keeping of two babies in the prison, arguing they are like serving a sentence for no crime committed. The club gave special donations for the two babies.
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