Embrace alternatives to custodial sentences to curb prison congestion

Prison congestion is a predicament that most countries in Africa face especially in their prison detention facilities, Uganda not being an exception.

Overcrowding can be interpreted as a prison facility having a population beyond its holding capacity. Prisons are gazetted establishments in which people are legally held as punishment for a crime they have committed or while awaiting trial.

According to world prison brief data. Uganda has 254 prisons with a total population of 74,444 in-mates; this includes pre-trial detainees or remand prisoners as per the end of 2022.

This was further broken down into 38,091 convicts, 35,997 remands and 356 debtors. The recommended holding capacity is 20,036 which gives an excess of 54,408 prisoners. This prompted the commissioner general to request for more funding for construction of prisons.

According to the commissioner general of prisons it’s recommended that prisons should have a total of 15,000 in -mates per prison and thus while appearing before the parliamentary committee for approval of the prison service budget recommended that new prisons facilities be constructed.

This seems to me to be a very long-term strategy to avoid overcrowding of prisons yet there are other measures that could be adopted by various stakeholders right from the point of arrest by police, courts, Director of public prosecutions and prisons.

Prisons should be reserved for deserving cases and should be one of the last options when it comes to sentencing. The number of offenders admitted to prison should be reduced by enforcement of diversion of cases from the formal justice system and enforcement of cautions, fines and penalties, especially petty offenders.

Remanding of accused persons to prisons at times is used as a punishment in total disregard of the principle of presumption of innocence as provided for under Article 28 (3) (a) of the 1995 constitution as amended at times the accused is not given an opportunity to apply for bail. Complainants oftentimes aim at ensuring that the accused is remanded even where the witness may not turn up to follow their cases.

Shortening the time offenders spend in prison is achievable where judicial officers can dismiss cases for want of prosecution under section 119 of the Magistrates courts Act where police files are missing, witnesses not attending court and remission of sentences to those that could be convicted. Some judicial officers never want to exercise such discretionary powers.

There are other alternative measures to custodial sentences that courts can also adopt and common among them is community service as per the community service Act and Regulations there too.

The offender is ordered to do community work such as cleaning toilets, compounds. It could also be a professional service depending on ones’ skill set at various placement areas like health centers, schools, courts, police stations, municipal council offices etc. This would in turn promote hygiene. That’s why we shouldn’t be seeing dirty facilities where we have petty offenders who could be sentenced to community services.

Some of the petty offenses have since been decriminalized or held unconstitutional and the recent one being rogue and vagabond, where hundreds would be arrested and remanded. A big prison population also burdens the government in terms of feeding, medical care and clothing.

There are particular categories of in-mates that don’t deserve to be detained in prison especially where they are charged with petty offence, these include; breast feeding mothers, pregnant mothers, elderly women and those  with babies because of their .specific peculiar agenda aspects, mental illness and HIV positive because it comes with challenges.

Custodial sentences for petty offenders ought to be substituted with fines as a penalty; this will also generate revenue to the government, which resources could be used to fund other sectors and in deserving cases some offenders need to be cautioned.

Brian  Kisomose,

Practicing advocate of the High court