Prisoners’ initiatives impress minister

Minister of Homeland Security Nicholas Dausi says he is impressed with developmental initiatives being undertaken by prisoners at Luwani and Mwanza prisons.

The minister said this on Monday when he visited Luwani and Mwanza prisons in Neno and Mwanza, respectively, where he appreciated farming and livestock activities.

At Luwani Prison, inmates are rearing pigs and goats and have a vegetable garden while at Mwanza Prison, they are involved in conservation agriculture.

Said Dausi: “We have also introduced skills development where inmates are being trained in various skills. 

“We want Malawi Prison Services (MPS) to be at par with all security agencies in the country.”

MPS chief commissioner of prisons Wandika Phiri advised the people to welcome those released and pardoned in their communities so that they start a new life. 

“It is our wish to see prisoners being integrated into communities and that they are welcomed back into the society,” she said.

One of the inmates at Mwanza Prison, Peter Shida, claimed that 214 inmates use one toilet and one cooking pot.

Mwanza Prison, with a capacity to accommodate 90 inmates, accommodates about 200 inmates.