Chapter 7: Zambia Prison Service

7 Zambia Prison Service

 

THE CRIMINAL JUSTICE SYSTEM IN ZAMBIA
Enhancing the Delivery of Security in Africa

 

African Human Security Initiative

Monograph No 159, April 2009

 

Legal framework

The Zambia Prison Service was established in terms of article 106 of the Constitution of Zambia, with the following aims:

• To provide custody for prisoners

• To provide correctional services to inmates

• To manage prisons generally

The main constitutional functions are elaborated under article 107 of the Constitution, supported by chapter 97 of the Laws of Zambia. The Prisons Act, 1965 (Act 56 of 1965) is supported by the Prisons Rules that were drawn up in 1966 and the Prison Standing Orders of 1968. There are Prison Service Principle Guidelines which set out in some detail the service’s goal statement and the overall mission of the Ministry of Home Affairs, under which the Prison Service falls.

Zambia has ratified the following conventions which establish international and regional human rights standards with regard to prisoners:

• The International Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination against Women (1979)
  
  

• The Convention on Civil and Political Rights (1984)
  
  

• The Convention on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (1984)
  
  

• The African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights (1984)
  
  

• The First Optional Protocol to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (1984)
  
  

• The African Charter on the Rights and Welfare of the Child (1990)
  
  

• The International Convention on the Rights of the Child (1991)
  
  

• The International Convention against Torture and other forms of Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (1998)

The country has also signed non-binding UN instruments whose objective is to ensure that prisoners receive full access to justice:

• Standard Minimum Rules for the Treatment of Prisoners (1955)
  
  

• Body of Principles for the Protection of All Persons under any Form of Detention or Imprisonment (1988)
  
  

• United Nations Rules for the Protection of Juveniles Deprived of Liberty (1990)
  
  

• Basic Principles for the Treatment of Prisoners (1990)

However, most of these instruments have not been domesticated by Zambia and hence they cannot be used to give prisoners full access to justice.

Capacity

The object of the Prisons Act is to provide for the establishment of a prison service to manage and control prisons. There are 53 prisons, ten medium security prisons and three remand prisons in the country,153 as well as one reformatory school. The prisons have a capacity of 4 000 but in July 2007 they held 14 894 inmates, of whom 6 073 have been convicted and 8 164 were on remand.154 There were 207 prohibited immigrants. This means that over two thirds of the prison population is on remand. The remandees are kept in overcrowded prisons and are held together with convicted criminals under inhumane conditions.155

Despite the prison population growing threefold since independence in 1964, the staff complement has not increased much since that time. In 1964 it stood at 1 800 personnel and over 40 years later, it stands at 1 856.156

According to the Commissioner, the Prison Service budget has been inadequate for many years.157 This raises serious concerns, and it would seem that many of the problems being experienced by the Prison Service stem from a lack of financial resources to fully support the operations of the service.158 One outcome has been that the service is unable to recruit adequate manpower and the ratio of staff to prisoners remains at 1:4.

OFFENDER MANAGEMENT (UNIT PROGRAMME)

The aim of the Offender Management Programme is to reintegrate prisoners into society after their release from prison. The programme bases its activities on five fundamental pillars

• The inmate care programme involves religious care, sport, recreation and HIV/AIDS awareness and focuses on the physical and spiritual development of prisoners
  
  

• Under the behaviour modification programme counselling is given to prisoners with social problems
  
  

• The main objective of the development programme is to involve prisoners in training and education and help them to acquire of vocational skills
  
  

• Terminally ill prisoners, the elderly, sex offenders and prisoners jailed for drug-related offences are targeted under the special needs offender programme. It also deals with juveniles and female inmates with children
  
  

• The reintegration phase involves conditional releases and family tie-in activities as well as the provision of aftercare services
  

he Offender Management Unit is a special unit headed by an assistant commissioner of prisons. It is based at prisons head office and has been established to manage and implement the five pillars of the Offender Management Programme.

The success of the programme is evident from the reduction in the number of recidivism cases, which is now about 35 per cent at Mukobeko and 16 per cent at the Copperbelt prison.159

Problems affecting prison administration

Overcrowding

The Prisons Needs Assessment Report of April 2004 identified prison overcrowding as one of the most serious and critical challenges facing the Prison Service. Despite an increase in the prison population and in convicted offenders, there have been only minor building extensions, resulting in prisons becoming seriously overcrowded. More specifically, the Human Rights Commission, in a 2004 inventory of Lusaka Central Prison, which was built to house 400 inmates, recorded over 1 215 inmates. Although there are signs of reduction in the number of prisoners, the prison population countrywide is still very high and prisons are still overcrowded. The prison population of Lusaka Central Prison currently stands at 994.

Appearing before the Parliamentary Committee for Legal Affairs and Governance, the Human Rights Commission director, Enock Mulembe, stated that the problem of congestion in prisons contributed to sodomy and homosexuality.160

Causes of overcrowding in prisons

Inadequate infrastructure

Human rights reports from 2002 to 2005 on selected prisons pointed out that inadequate accommodation space resulting from old and unexpanded infrastructure was adding to congestion in the prisons. The director of the Human Rights Commission stressed this point when interviewed in June 2007.

The Zambia Prisons Needs Assessment Report for 2004 also highlighted lack of adequate accommodation as a critical factor accounting for congestion in prisons. In his research on causes of congestion in Zambian prisons, Chanda noted that the inadequate prison infrastructure greatly contributed to overcrowding in prisons.161 During the review, many participants emphasised that overcrowding is caused partly by inadequate infrastructure.

Remands and case flows

The Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Home Affairs attributed prison congestion to delays in disposing of cases in court. He argued that if the judicial system was improved so as to speed up the conclusion of cases on remand, prisons would be less congested.162

Two cases illustrate how poor case flow management causes overcrowding in prisons. The case of Edith Munjita, a woman with a speech disability who was facing a murder charge, had not been heard for a year because there was no sign language interpreter to help her during trial proceedings. Jeremiah Lupula Mukoshi had complained to the Human Rights Commission who visited the prison that he had been waiting for 14 years for his appeal to be heard by the Supreme Court.

 

Unnecessary case adjournments also cause overcrowding and result in the accused being unfairly treated. Lengthy stays in prison also lead to the manifestation of problems such as sodomy and rape.

Some remandees are kept in prison without warrants, adding to the problem of overcrowding in prisons. In its report for Central Province in 2005, the Human Rights Commission indicated that 78 remandees were kept on expired warrants at Mpima Prison and were illegally detained. The cases of about 300 of the 700 remandees at Kamwala Remand Prison had not been heard in court. Some remandees do go to court but their cases are never heard, while others do not go to court at all but simply remain in prison. Although a shortage of magistrates in some local districts increases overcrowding in prisons, the general management of cases has been and is still often slow. Not surprisingly, there have been incidents where remandees revolted against prison conditions and police authorities for detaining them on expired warrants, for example in Kabwe.

Corruption

Corrupt practices delay access to justice and low institutional capacity causes delays in the management of cases, which in turn contributes to overcrowding in prisons. This is illustrated by the case of Joseph Zimba v The People that was reported by the Legal Resource Foundation’s Lusaka office.

The accused was arrested on 7 October 2006 by the Drug Enforcement Commission for the illegal possession of fake dollar notes to the value of US$4 000. He was remanded at Kamwala Remand Prison as he failed to raise the K2 million set for bail. Since the bail hearing he has not seen the inside of a court house. He alleges that officers from the Drug Enforcement Commission have demanded or solicited K2 million from him in order to close the case. Because he does not have the money, he has remained in prison.

Work stoppage and strike action

Although inmates and prison officials did not refer specifically to this, it is contended that strikes and work stoppages at courts undermine speedy access to justice for prisoners. For example, during the week ending 24 June 2007 the judiciary was on strike and only ended the strike action when the government met their demands for payment of housing allowances amounting to K3,8 billion. Because of the strike action, remand warrants were not signed and suspects remained in prison without going to court. It was a situation of justice delayed and justice denied. The Minister of Home Affairs stated that the strike by the judiciary workers delayed the delivery of justice to remandees and the whole justice system so that people were locked up for longer than necessary. The Minister observed that delayed justice violated human rights of the detainees. Indeed, any strike action contributes to the problem of overcrowding in prisons.

Lack of sleep, uniforms and food

From overcrowding in Zambian prisons flows a number of problems that impact negatively on the welfare of prisoners, with lack of sleep being one of the biggest problems facing prisoners. At both Mukobeko and Lusaka remand prisons, prisoners sleep on the floor while others have to sleep standing up. Beddings such as mattresses and blankets are in short supply in most prisons. Food is inadequate in both quality and quantity. Inmates often receive only one meal a day at 15:00 hours and only occasionally does the Prison Service manage to supply meals twice a day. Breakfast is a rare treat. The meal usually consists of nshima (thickened maize meal porridge) with kapenta fish or beans – not a balanced diet in any sense of the word.

The review did find that the government had initiated measures to redress the problems of both food and blankets. On 21 August 2007 the Zambian government procured 30 000 blankets for inmates countrywide at a cost of K1,1 billion. When he handed over these blankets to the Commissioner of Prisons, the Permanent Secretary for Home Affairs described the conditions in prison as pathetic since prisoners slept on the floor and in most cases without blankets. According to the Permanent Secretary the blankets were to be distributed to 13 000 inmates. The inmates were also promised 30 000 bars of soap and toiletries.163

HIV/AIDS in prisons

Apart from tuberculosis, HIV/AIDS and other sexually transmitted diseases are the most dangerous diseases prisoners have to contend with, a situation that is exacerbated by overcrowding in prisons. The 2005 Human Rights Commission’s Report for Central Province confirmed that HIV/AIDS and tuberculosis (TB) pose a great danger to the lives of prisoners.

The 1999 National Prisons Survey on HIV and AIDS risk behaviours and sero-prevalence showed that 27 per cent of inmates living in prisons were HIV positive while 15 per cent had sexually transmitted infections (STIs). In the period between 1995 and 2000, 2 397 inmates and 263 prison staff died of AIDS-related illnesses. The major risk behaviour for HIV transmission in prisons was identified as unprotected sex between male inmates (sodomy), tattooing, sharing of needles during drug use, and sharing of shaving instruments.

This study found that the Zambia Prison Service has an elaborate HIV/AIDS and STI/TB workplace policy whose main objective is to prevent transmission of HIV/AIDS and other infectious diseases. The policy outlines the rights and responsibilities of prison officers and inmates in relation to HIV/AIDS in order to live up to the department’s vision of a prison service free from the threat of the disease. It covers members of staff and their families, as well as inmates. The Director for International Relations and Corporate Affairs confirmed that about 102 inmates were receiving antiretroviral therapy. The Prison Fellowship, an NGO, is also facilitating peer education and HIV/AIDS counselling to inmates.

The Prisons Act was amended in 2004 to introduce a medical health care programme for inmates and staff. Section 16 of the Act provides for the establishment of a prison health service to provide and administer health care. Under section 16A(1) the Commissioner of Prisons is empowered to appoint a director of health on the advice of the Minister of Health. The director is responsible for the efficient and effective day-to-day administration of the Prison Health Services. Section 17A(1) of the Act empowers the Commissioner of Prisons to appoint medical officers for each prison to cater for the health of prisoners. Arrangements were being made to employ a medical doctor and staff at the time of this review. In the meantime, critically ill prisoners are attended to at government clinics and hospitals.

While the HIV/AIDS pandemic has been acknowledged as a serious health problem in Zambian prisons, prison clinics lack the necessary drugs. Some prisons do not even have clinics where inmates can be treated (see box 11).

 

Funding

The Zambia Prison Service has historically had to contend with low funding levels from government. The problem of underfunding cuts across the mainstream prison administration and is the root cause of many problems in the Prison Service. The shortage of financial resources impacts adversely on the condition of prison facilities, including medical care facilities, and the provision of basic necessities such as food, bedding and uniforms. The maintenance of prison buildings and the sanitation system cannot be undertaken due to a lack of financial resources. In the 2006 financial year, K35,8 billion was allocated to the Prison Service for all its activities. In 2007, the allocation was reduced to K34,1 billion. This is a small budget, considering the size of the Prison Service and number of prisoners in the country.

The lack of funding has had a particularly severe impact on transport, affecting such basic activities as transporting remandees to court and collecting firewood. In its report for Central Province for 2005 the Human Rights Commission noted that Kabwe Medium Security Prison had been without transport since 1989. The report also commented that the prison had no blankets and mattresses because of poor funding. Lack of adequate funding has also affected training and recruitment of staff.

Treatment of women in prison

In the Prison Service, all prisoners are classified at the time of admission in accordance with section 60(1) of the Zambia Prisons Act of 1965 as male and female prisoners. The Act further provides that they should be lodged in separate prison accommodation. With regard to the treatment of female prisoners, the Act among others contains the following provisions:

• Female prisoners must be supervised by female prison officers
  
  

• Female prisoners should be kept separate from male prisoners
  
  

• Female prisoners should be allowed visitors or relations in addition to receiving letters from their children. Pregnant female prisoners should be provided with ante-natal and post-natal care, as well as baby clothes and other necessities, at government expense
  
  

• Female prisoners with infants should be allowed to keep their infants with them in prison until they are four years old

The custody of women prisoners in Zambia accordingly presents special problems for prison administrators, although they constitute only a small number of the prison population. In fact, in 2004 there were only 375 female prisoners or 3 per cent of the whole prison population.164

The main problem is that most prisons in Zambia were built for males only and do not have facilities for accommodating females. In a report on the prison and police cells visits by the Human Rights Commission for Lusaka Province of 24 June 2004, the commission reported that it had found mothers with infants as young as two days old at Lusaka Central Prison sharing facilities with other inmates. A similar situation was reported by the Human Rights Commission in its 2005 report on the Central Prison where seven children and their mothers were sharing facilities with other female inmates.

Authorities such as the Deputy Director for Public Relations acknowledge that female inmates - particularly those who are pregnant or who have young children - face particular difficulties in prison. However, a lack of funding makes it impossible to provide facilities and services as set out in the legislation.

Children/juveniles in conflict with the law

The appropriate detention of children in conflict with the law is provided for in a number of conventions. The UN Guidelines for the Prevention of Juvenile Delinquency (adopted by the UN in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, in 1988) and the Beijing Rules (adopted in 1985) provide for fair and humane treatment of such children. A basic provision of the UN Standard Minimum Rules for the Treatment of Prisoners is that children should be separated from adults and should receive the necessary care, protection and assistance. Article 17 of the African Charter on the Rights and Welfare of the Child states that: ‘Every child accused or found guilty of having infringed penal law shall have the right to special treatment in a manner consistent with the child’s sense of dignity and worth ...’ Zambia has also ratified the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, although its provisions have not been domesticated.

Human rights provisions are set out in Part III of the Constitution of Zambia, which explicitly acknowledges that children are expected and are in fact entitled to enjoy the full range of rights contained in the National Bill of Rights. In particular, children have a right not to be tortured or to be subjected to degrading or inhumane treatment.

However, in its visits to Zambian prisons the Human Rights Commission found many incidents of juvenile prisoners sharing cells with adult prisoners.165 The commission also reported that the juvenile prisoners are ill treated and often indecently assaulted, thus violating their human dignity. Clearly, the lack of adequate prison facilities for children who are in conflict with the law or who are in prison with their mothers exacerbates the situation.

In a visit to Mukobeko maximum prison in Kabwe in April 2006, the Minister for Central Province, Mr Sydney Chisanga, found that ten juvenile convicts were sharing cells with hardcore convicted prisoners. During the Minister’s tour of the prison an inmate by the name of Chimbala noted the following complaints:

• The poor diet – the prisoners were fed mainly beans for months on end

• Inmates had not received breakfast rations for about seven months

• They received only one meal per day

• There were numerous cases of tuberculosis and HIV/AIDS

• Prison staff were demanding that prisoners pay K4 000 for X-ray services166

Cruel and inhuman treatment of inmates

According to an ex-prisoner who spent four years at Mukobeko prison, prisoners are sometimes beaten and treated cruelly. However, these incidents are normally not reported to higher prison authorities, or where incidents are in fact reported, no action is taken. The following incidents reflect the cruel treatment experienced by some of the prisoners:

• Paul Kaputu was sentenced to 18 months’ imprisonment at Milima Prison, Kasama. On the first day he was tortured by a prison officer after being accused of attempting to escape and was whipped with a sjambok. The prisoner sustained a fractured knee and had to be transferred from Kasama to Lusaka for specialist treatment at the University Teaching Hospital
  
  

• In 2004 prisoner Mbita, in the company of other inmates, was taken to Mungulube open air prison. He reminded the warder that he needed treatment at Mansa hospital. The warder refused to grant Mbita permission to receive treatment and they quarrelled. The warder then beat Mbita with a steel hoe handle so that he sustained a fractured backbone. The warder had to pay Mbita compensation of K1 million167
  
  

• A prison warder named Moffat Chifwele from Chondwe open air prison in Ndola appeared in the Ndola magistrate’s court after being charged with grievous bodily harm for beating Davies Nyirenda, a convict. Chifwele used a stone to pummel Nyirenda to the extent that the latter – who was accused of attempting to escape from custody - is now confined to a wheelchair. Nyirenda was released from prison by presidential pardon.168
  
  

• On 12 June 2007 the chairperson of the Human Rights Commission reported that prisoners were being tortured at Mufulira Prison in the Copperbelt. In one case a prisoner had been beaten with a hoe handle and dirty water was poured over him. The prisons authorities denied that the incident occurred and accused the Human Rights Commission of misrepresentation
  

Despite denials the Human Rights Commission has found many cases of ill treatment of prisoners and of prisoners who were deprived of their rights. Furthermore, the former Commissioner of Prisons was concerned about allegations of torture at Mufulira Prison and instituted a high-level team, headed by himself, to investigate the matter. The findings had not been published at the time of writing of this report.

Sishekano Lubinda, a prisoner serving a sentence for aggravated robbery who participated in this review, said that the attitude of some officers towards prisoners is oppressive. He suggested that prison officers should be educated on human rights so that they regard inmates as fellow human beings.

Abuse, degrading and shaming of prisoners in public

There have been widespread reports of abuse of prisoners, especially in North-Western Province where prisoners are forced to dance in public to entertain people. In May 2007 the Permanent Secretary for North-Western Province directed the Prison Service in Kabompo to stop using prisoners to entertain members of the public by dancing in Makishicostumes. As some of these prisoners had never even been to a mukanda ceremony, this practice constituted a serious cultural offence against the Luvale people of North-Western Province.

The President also directed the Prison Service not to abuse prisoners by using them to work in vegetable gardens and fields or perform manual work at officers’ homes. The President had received reports that officers were abusing prisoners by using them to work on their private fields and gardens instead of government prison fields. Although agricultural production is part of a programme to impart skills that prisoners can use when they were released, this practice amounts to abuse of prisoners and violation of their rights.

Access to justice and representation

The right to legal advice and representation was previously enshrined in the Judges’ Rules and has recently been acknowledged as a right in common law. In terms of the Constitution of Zambia the right to legal representation is a fundamental human right.

According to the majority of the inmates they had no problem speaking to their lawyers but courts delayed their cases on appeal or even at the trial stage. Some inmates felt that inmates who committed minor offences such as shoplifting should be sentenced to community service or non-custodial sentences. In their view this would help decongest prisons.

Contact with the outside world

The review found that relatives, friends and well-wishers are normally allowed to visit inmates, especially over weekends. The inmates are also allowed to receive food or such necessities as soap or plates from relatives or visitors. In the majority of cases, the inmates are allowed to write and receive letters from friends and relatives, although all such communications are monitored for security reasons. According to one inmate, the only ones who do not receive or write letters are those who have no money or no relatives or friends to visit them.

Recent developments

It is important to note that while the Zambia Prison Service faces many significant challenges that undermine its efficiency, there have been positive developments with a view to resolving some of the difficulties.

Uniforms

In the 2006 budget for prisons, the government allocated K8 billion to procure uniforms for prisoners and staff. The South African Department of Correctional Services also donated uniforms for prisoners and gardening tools to the value of K1,7 billion.169 Kenya also donated special uniforms for officers, tailored to the measurement of each officer with his/her name printed on the uniform. The commissioner stated that these uniforms would be worn at Prison’s Day celebrations and pass-out parades. The researchers paid five visits to the Lusaka Central and Kamwala prisons and on the last visit, on 20 September 2007, found that prisoners were wearing new green uniforms.

Agricultural output

Agriculture is a major activity in the Prison Service and many inmates participate in this programme as a way of acquiring skills they would be able to use upon their release. Agricultural farm produce can be used as food for prisoners. This would improve the nutritional value of their diets and afford them three meals as opposed to one meal per day. The Prison Service’s vision states that it aims to be self-sustaining in agriculture to eliminate hunger in prisons and reduce dependence on the National Treasury. To this end it continues to organise activities that allow inmates to produce their own food.

Transport

Political will has emerged that reflects a shift in policy emphasis on the resolution of problems affecting the Prison Service. On 21 September 2007 the government, through the authority of the President, released about K17 billion to purchase various items required for prison administration. These included cargo trucks, utility vans, buses, ambulances, speed boats, irrigation systems and uniforms. These funds were allocated from outside the normal prisons’ budget.

The shift in policy in favour of the Prison Service is in line with the aspirations of the government policy outlined in the Fifth National Development Plan aimed at improving the working environment of the Prison Service by 2010.

The findings of this study indicate that that government has also begun to improve transport facilities of the Prison Service, as the following examples indicate

• When a researcher visited Lusaka Central Prison on 13 June 2007 two trucks were parked outside the prison waiting to convey prisoners to court and for other errands
  
  

• A 20-seater boat costing K92 million had been bought and delivered to Kalabo Prison. The officers used to pay K20 000 to private boat owners to travel to Mongu to obtain food for prisoners
  
  

• On 17 June 2007 the Commissioner of Prisons distributed six ambulances to regional commanders, including Katombora Reformatory. Some staff cars were bought and distributed to commanders and other senior officers
  
  

• Farming equipment in the form of irrigation pumps and tractors were delivered to Mwembeshi and other prison farms

However, the transport situation is still inadequate, especially because big stations such as Lusaka Central Prison and Kamwala, which have a workforce of about 2 063 including support staff, have no utility vehicles. According to the inmates it is for example difficult to arrange transport to hospital for treatment.

Conclusion

The Prison Service currently faces challenges ranging from overcrowded prison accommodation, shortages of manpower and a lack of advanced training (especially in management and human rights) to insufficient food, health facilities, transport for prisoners and in some cases staff clothing and security for prison buildings. Facilities for women and juveniles are also inadequate.

The Zambian Prison command appreciates the magnitude of the problems faced by the Prison Service. It has therefore developed a vision to make the service ‘the best provider of custodial and correctional practices and be self-sustaining in agricultural and industrial production’. The Service has formulated guidelines that reflect its obligation to respect the rule of law. Political leaders have shown political will to resolve many of the problems confronting the Prison Service. The master plan strategy for the Zambia Prison Service, when set within the context of the Fifth National Development Plan and Vision 2010, does add value to prison development.

In an attempt to alleviate problems caused by overcrowding, the focus has shifted to the rehabilitation of prisons. Kitchens and ablutions facilities have been refurbished in prisons such as Kabwe and Kamfinsa. Another effort to improve overcrowding has been the establishment of open air prisons in Lusaka and Western provinces in 2004. Unfortunately, the highest prison population consists of remandee prisoners, who form 50 per cent of the prison population of some 13 500, and they cannot be retained in open spaces. Illegal immigrants are also no longer imprisoned but now receive special temporary permits. Efforts are made to engage prisoners productively in farming activities to supplement their food requirements. Some efforts are made to separate juveniles from adults and where there are no female detention facilities, female suspects are placed on police bond.

With regard to the handling of the Prison Service, the government rightly acknowledges its problems in meeting the constitutional, national and international standards. For instance, death row inmates can be imprisoned for up to 20 years without knowing when they are scheduled for execution. These delays are attributed to financial constraints and low technical and human capacity.

Recommendations

Build new prisons

It is recommended that three prisons (one each for males, females and juveniles) be built to alleviate overcrowding in prisons. Prisons are so overcrowded that it is difficult to observe the United Nations Standard Minimum Rules, which require that prisoners be given reasonable comfort and humane treatment. The new prisons should take into account special needs of women and children.

This recommendation has the support of members of the Zambia bench. For example, when opening a High Court session in North-Western Province in May 2007, Justice Lloyd Siame said that new prisons had to be built or existing structures renovated as a way of decongesting prisons. The judge stated that cells that were meant to accommodate ten inmates were in effect accommodating 65 prisoners. He concluded that the situation was ‘inhuman’ and that it was ‘unhealthy to have prisoners packed in one cell’. At a state house ceremony to swear in the newly appointed Commissioner of Prisons, the President said he was concerned about overcrowding in prisons and stressed that such a situation amounted to a human rights abuse. He added that accommodating 1 000 prisoners in a prison meant for 100 inmates amounted to a violation of the rights of prisoners.

Constitutional pardons

In August 2007 President Leve Manawasa pardoned 823 prisoners. This pardon reflected well on the promise President Manawasa made when touring the Mwembeshi prison farms, namely that he would take revolutionary measures to deal with the problem of overcrowding in prisons. It is recommended that the new President also use his powers under article 59 of the Constitution to pardon deserving prisoners as a way of decongesting prisons.

Agriculture

It is recommended that the agricultural endeavours of the Prison Service be encouraged and financially supported by government and donors in order to grow more maize, vegetables and other crops for inmates. Over the years the Prison Service has been able to increase its yields in agricultural production. Even higher yields would enable the service to provide three meals a day with good nutritional value, which would be to the benefit of particularly HIV-infected prisoners. The prison ranches and fish ponds could be used to improve the protein intake of prisoners. The right of prisoners to adequate food and a balanced diet would thus be greatly enhanced. If the Prison Service was able to feed itself it would save the state about K12 billion that is currently spent on prisoners’ rations.

Women and juveniles

It is recommended that the Minister of Home Affairs use powers vested in him under section 3(1) of the Prisons Act to declare a suitable building a prison for female or juvenile inmates. It is obvious that most prisons in Zambia were built without considering the special needs of women and children. These are two categories of prisoners who are mostly vulnerable to human rights abuses and therefore need special care. The interests of child prisoners can best be served when they are separated from adult prisoners.

Training

It is recommended that training in human rights law receive priority attention. This will help mitigate the abuse and harsh treatment of prisoners by warders. It is important to appreciate that skills and professional development training is critical to the development of a professional core of officers in the service, who will interpret the Prisons Act to the benefit of prisoners. Leadership training should equally receive priority and senior officers should participate and receive training in leadership and management courses, too, to enable them to manage human and financial resources for the benefit of inmates. The ultimate goal is to achieve a change in the mindset to one of accountability.

Financial and human resources

The government should be encouraged to increase financial and budgetary allocations to the Prison Service to enable the service to purchase blankets, mattresses and utensils for inmates. Increased funding would help the service to recruit extra manpower and promote deserving officers and offer refresher courses and other skills development activities to build a professional prisons service which would uphold respect for the rule of law.

Prisoner health

The Commissioner of Prisons should prioritise the appointment of a medical doctor and medical support staff to take care of the health of inmates, and oversee the implementation of the health care programme in the Prison Service. The service should ensure adequate antiretroviral treatment for HIV-infected inmates. The delivery of health care services should take into account the special needs of children and ensure ante-natal and post-natal care for women. Prisoners should be afforded an opportunity to enjoy the highest attainable standard of health in compliance with the right to health.

National parole board

It is recommended that a national parole board be established in accordance with section 113A of Act 16 of the Penal Code 2003, which should speed up recommendations for the release of deserving prisoners, especially those incarcerated for minor offences. The parole system would help to decongest prisons.

Non-custodial sentencing policy

It is recommended that the judiciary be encouraged to apply non-custodial sentencing in respect of petty and minor crimes to help decongest prisons. High poverty levels, as in Zambia, are associated with high levels of crime and prisons accommodate many petty crime offenders who should rather be sentenced to community service in accordance with the Prisons (Amendment) Act, 2000 (Act 14 of 2000). A non-custodial sentencing policy would support the view that long custodial sentences are not conducive to prisoner reform, while shorter sentences give prisoners the opportunity to rejoin society.

Establishment of a legal department

It is recommended that the prisons high command set up a legal department at its head office to monitor the observance of human rights and implementation of the UN Minimum Standards and other conventions related to the treatment of prisoners. It should also oversee training in human rights by staff members. Such a legal department would also monitor the movement of remandees to court and ensure that no one is detained without a warrant or with an expired warrant.

Prisons ombudsman

It is recommended that government consider setting up a prisons ombudsman to deal with the wider issues of human rights abuses in prisons.

The improvement of standards of justice within prisons is a core function of prison services the world over. It is therefore important that prisoners should know why a decision which may have a material adverse effect on them has been taken or is being taken. This is essential to achieve satisfactory relations between prisoners and their guards. If a prisoner feels that he has a genuine grievance he should have access to a grievance procedure which has some degree of independence to hear the matter.

Such a prisons ombudsman would receive, hear, investigate and pronounce on complaints by individual prisoners on their treatment and general welfare. This institution would add value towards improving respect for human rights in prisons and make the Prison Service management more accountable. In the process it would help to prevent adverse actions on the prisoners. The prison ombudsman would ensure that justice and respect for human rights in respect of prisoners are upheld.

Comprehensive master strategy

A comprehensive master plan should be instituted for the Prison Service to ensure that problems with which the service has to contend are dealt with in a comprehensive manner. The plan would operationalise the mission statement, which has as its main goal:

To effectively and efficiently provide and maintain humane custodial and correctional services to inmates and to increase industrial production in order to contribute to the well-being and reform of inmates and maintenance of internal security.