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February 2007 |
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Govt Urged to Decongest Prisons By Madube Pasi Siyauya GOVERNMENT has been urged to build and renovate prisons to decongest and improve conditions for prisoners. Ndola High Court Judge Justice Munalula Lisimba , who was speaking during the official opening of the High Court Sessions in Northern Province, said during prison visits, they had observed that many prisons were dilapidated. Justice Lisimba said when they hold sessions, judges visit one or two prisons depending on the workload in the session. He said there was over-crowding with most prisons being made to accommodate twice their normal capacities. Justice Lisimba said there was need to build new prisons or extend existing ones in order to accommodate the ever increasing number of inmates. "It is common to find two or more inmates sharing a torn single mattress, using a torn blanket and in some instances inmates have no blankets at all," he said. Justice Lisimba said he had been informed that mattresses had been purchased but were marooned at Prison Services headquarters because the Prisons Service did not have money for fuel to transport the mattresses. He urged Northern Province Permanent secretary Joel Ngo to look into the matter. |
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