By East African Gazette
Kampala
The festive season led to a surge in the number of prisoners, according to the Ugandan Prisons Services (UPS).
Frank Baine, the prisons spokesperson, revealed that the number of prisoners increased significantly from approximately 67,000 before December 2023 to 77,592.
He highlighted that the current figures consist of 39,602 convicts, 37,555 remands, and 435 debtors.
He emphasized that during Christmas, certain individuals made choices that resulted in their incarceration.
Baine made these remarks during a weekly joint security briefing for journalists at the police headquarters in Naguru, Nakawa Division, today (January 15, 2024).
Despite the growing number of prisoners and the resulting congestion, the staff levels remain low, with only 14,297 personnel.
“The congestion levels remain high and worrying with about four people staying in a space which could be of one person,” he noted.
He said the ratio of prisoners to warders remains at 1:7, which is higher than the global ratio of 1:3.
“So we are still doing very badly. Reoffending remained at 14%, meaning that out of 100 prisoners who had gone through our rehabilitation process only 14 came back having committed offenses which is a very good position,” he noted.
Baine further attributed the congestion to the prolonged detention of prisoners awaiting trial for minor offenses, which is expected to be two months, but remained significantly elevated at 2.9 months.
“Our average daily attendance of court stood at 1602 prisoners going to court for the whole of last year,” he noted.
Baine observed that approximately 35,000 prisoners were able to avail themselves of the rehabilitation programs offered throughout the entirety of the previous year.
He mentioned that there was only a single instance of an inmate escaping, while five prisoners who had escaped earlier were recaptured engaging in celebratory activities.
Visitation back to normal
Baine utilized the aforementioned briefing to communicate to the general public that the temporary class one period, which resulted in the implementation of restrictions on visitation and prisoner access, ended on Friday, January 12, 2024.
“So with effect from today we are running normally like we usually do. So, the standby one period has ended completely,” he added.
Warns on fraudsters
Baine also issued a cautionary statement to the general public regarding the dissemination of counterfeit “prisons document” that falsely announces recruitment.
He emphasized that certain unidentified individuals had obtained an outdated UPS document of two years ago, removed the dates, and presented it as current information, spreading it across different media platforms to announce new job opportunities.
Baine further revealed that they had received an overwhelming number of more than 100 inquiries from individuals seeking employment.
“I am telling everyone that UPS is not recruiting for jobs. Even when we are recruiting, we do not ask for money. Nobody pays a coin for a government job. If someone asks money from you for a government job, that one is conman,” he added.
He pondered over the acceptance and seriousness that people accord to a document lacking a date or author, but bearing only a logo.
“When there is a recruitment, we announce on radios, TVs, we hold a press briefing and inform the whole country. So, please don’t get cheated,” he added.
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