Prime
Uganda Prisons short of 39,000 personnel
Prison warders march during a passing out ceremony at Luzira on January 18, 2018. PHOTO BY STEPHEN WANDERA
What you need to know:
- Uganda Prison Services is not the only security agency with a man power deficit.
Uganda Prison Services is short of more than 39,000 personnel making the force operate at 20 percent capacity.
According to Dr Johnson Byabashaija, the Commissioner General of Uganda Prison Service, there are currently 9,787 prison personnel of the required 80,000.
About 380 of the 9,787 personnel are civilians. Dr Byabashaija notes that the available manpower is unable to adequately handle the prison population of almost 50,000 inmates across the country.
"We have come from far but we still have a long way to go in recruitment to reach the standard Prison officer per population ratio," Dr Byabashaija said.
He was speaking during the pass out of 706 prison warder recruits after completing 9 month's basic security training. Another 213 prison officers were also passed out after completing a three month's refresher course.
The recruits will however, be the last in the next three years as per the 2016 presidential directive. In 2016, President Museveni ordered the suspension of the recruitment and training of security personnel until 2020 for government to concentrate on other urgent sectors.
Speaking at the pass out ceremony held this afternoon, president Museveni cautioned against recruiting personnel without the necessary resources.
"When you recruit, you need to have the ability to sustain the recruits. You have to pay them a salary every month; you need to feed them and other basics. We know of the manpower gap but let's first handle other things," Museveni said.
Uganda Prison Services is not the only security agency with a man power deficit. The Uganda Police Force, whose officer to population ratio is supposed to be 1:500 as per the United Nations standards, has 43,000 of the required 80,000 officers.
