CCJP project to reduce congestion at Maula Prison

Concerned with congestion problems at Maula Prison and police cells in Lilongwe, the Catholic Commission for Justice and Peace (CCJP) of the Lilongwe Archdiocese is implementing a project to deal with less serious cases so that the suspects are not given custodial sentence.

Maula Prison, the biggest in the Central Region, is said to be congested as it currently holds 2 650 inmates against a capacity of 800 inmates, according to the prison’s officer-in-charge Kalirani Mwale.

CCJP Lilongwe assistant legal officer Ruth Manda observed that some of the suspects on remand at Maula Prison committed minor offences, hence, the Adult Diversion Project which will ensure that justice is enforced without necessarily sending the suspects to prison.

According to Manda, CCJP Lilongwe Archdiocese has partnered Ministry of Justice and Constitutional Affairs, Central Region Police, Legal Aid Bureau, Paralegal Advisory Service Institute (Pasi), Malawi Law Society, Maula Prison and Ministry of Gender, Women, Children, Disabilities and Social Welfare.

Funded by the Open Society Initiative for Southern Africa (Osisa), the project will be completed in October 2017. n