The Uganda Prisons Service (UPS) has said they are stuck with many prisoners on remand and civil debtors, causing congestion in different prisons across the country.
Addressing prisons chiefs at the opening ceremony for the Workshop on Prison Infrastructure in Africa, Dr Johnson Byabashaija, the Commissioner General of Prisons, said they have a total population of 76,367 inmates of these, 39,453 have been convicted, 36,442 are on remand and 472 are civil debtors, who have pushed the total occupancy rate to 366.76 percent, causing high infection rates for Hepatitis B and Tuberculosis.
He added that the congestion at the prisons has also affected the quality of life and accommodation of the prisons officers because the way a prisoner sleeps is the same way prisons officers do.
He further said they have been forced to establish an engineering department which is now constructing new prisons to cater for growing prisoner numbers and staff accommodation.
Henry Tiberondwa, the head of engineering department in UPS, said they operate 49 government prisons and 222 prisons units, including district local government prisons across the country.
Frank Baine, the Prisons spokesperson, said as an entity, they have no control over decongesting prisons because their work is to keep prisoners.
Gen KahindaOtafiire, the Internal Affairs minister, who officially opened the workshop, advised the prisons chiefs to tap into the idle human resource of the different professionals in jail to improve the living conditions.
