Congestion eases in cells, prisons

The opening of the courts after the two and a half months Judiciary staff strike has eased congestion in the Malawi Police and Malawi Prison services withholding cells, both police and prison officials have said.

Speaking in an interview on Monday, national police spokesperson Davie Chingwalu described the opening of the courts last week as a “great  relief”.

He, however, said the process of taking suspects to court might take time as some cases need thorough preparation, including calling of witnesses.

Prisons spokesperson Evans Phiri said overcrowding in prison cells is gradually easing.

Said Phiri: “We are not saying that congestion has ended, but that with the courts reopening, it has drastically eased.”

Malawi Law Society (MLS) president John-Gift Mwakhwawa said lawyers’ work in handling cases will depend on courts’ planning.

“When we bring cases to court, it [court] sets out a date for hearing. So, our workload will depend upon how the courts will set their timetable,” he said.

‘Courts working tirelessly’

Deputy High Court and Supreme Court of Appeal registrar Michael Tembo said courts are working tirelessly to reduce the workload that arose due to strike.

“We are liaising with [court] registries in the regions, in cooperation with the police, to ensure that cases are speeded up,” said Tembo.

Phiri is on record as having  said there were additional 974 suspects in prison, leading to an increase in the number of suspects to 13 424 as of March 8 2012.  Congestion in police cells also forced the police to give bail to some suspects or remand others to prisons.

The Judiciary went on strike early January demanding a salary increment and arrears dating back to 2006 when Parliament approved their conditions of service.

The strike came to an end after an agreement with government to increase their salaries by 40 percent and payment of arrears to start this month.