By Wezzie Gausi:
The Ministry of Justice and Constitutional Affairs has said it is not sure when it will table the Prisons Bill in Parliament even though the Ministry of Homeland Security reportedly finalised working on the draft piece.
Malawi has been using the Prisons Act of 1956 despite gaining independence in 1964.
Ministry of Justice spokesperson Frank Namangale said the Prisons Bill is one of the bills on the ministry’s priority list.
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He said good progress has been made on this bill and that, once finalised, it will be published in the Gazette for general information, following which it will be tabled in Parliament.
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“I may not commit to say it is ready for the November meeting of Parliament but the nation can be assured that it will be presented to Parliament as soon as it is ready and we will keep the nation, through you the media, informed.
“You may also be interested in knowing that there are a number of bills the ministry is preparing for presentation to Parliament this November, or in future, and they include the Judicial Service and Administration Bill to do with accountability in the Judiciary, Investment Promotion Bill, Public Service Bill, aimed at reforming the public sector, Ombudsman Amendment Bill, Tobacco Bill and the Elderly [Persons] Bill, aimed at protecting the elderly that face torture, including murder, simply for being aged,” Namangale said.
Centre for Human Rights Education, Advice and Assistance Executive Director Victor Mhango said they hope that steps will be taken to gazette the bill soon.
He said they recall that in his State of the Nation Address on February 17 2023, President Lazarus Chakwera hinted that, in this fiscal year, there will be a review of the Prison Services Bill to usher in a fairer system for releasing prisoners before they complete their sentences.
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“As this fiscal year is drawing closer to an end, we hope the Ministry of Justice will meet the deadline and gazette the bill.
“We are hopeful that when the bill is presented to Parliament, it will be successfully deliberated on and adopted to enhance prisoners’ enjoyment of human rights,” Mhango said.
The first attempt to replace the current Prisons Act was in 2003 when a new bill was drafted that sought to bring Malawi in line with the Constitution and its international human rights obligations.
However, it was shelved in the late 2000s for “not being realistic as regards socio-economic circumstances in the country”.
In 2013, the Special Law Commission conducted a “thorough and holistic” review of the situation relating to prisoners, and produced the draft bill.
