Malawi Prisons Service (MPS) is illegally holding hundreds of inmates in the country’s prisons long after remand warrants have expired, The Nation has learnt.
In an interview on the sidelines of Catholic University of Malawi (Cunima) legal clinic on Thursday, Blantyre Prison discipline officer Davie Likatho said the situation is fuelling congestion at his facility.
For instance, Blantyre Prison, also known as Chichiri Prison, had about 630 remandees, of which over 300 were held illegally as of Thursday last week following their remand warrants’ expiry.
Likatho attributed the growing number of detainees who overstay their lawful remand periods to delayed hearing of their cases.
Said Likatho: “We face issues of remand warrants expiring from our colleagues at the police. Above all, these challenges cause congestion in prisons and inmates end up staying longer than the law allows.”
Blantyre’s situation mirrors a wider crisis in all the country’s 31 prisons, according to prisoners’ rights activists.
In an interview yesterday, MPS national spokesperson Steven Meke said the country’s prisons have about 3 800 inmates on remand.
However he could not disclose the number of inmates being kept illegally due to the expiry of their remand warrants. Meke asked for more time to come up with figures at national level.
But behind the statistics are individuals whose lives have been paused indefinitely.
One of the remandees, son to a former cabinet minister during Malawi Congress Party administration who was arrested for alleged theft at his parents’ house in Blantyre, said he fears for his life.
“I am just stuck here. Before I was remanded here, I tried to reason with my father to forgive me because I committed the crime under the influence of drugs. But since then, I have never been taken to court,” said the 26-year-old.
Another remandee, who identified himself as John Kamweta and claimed to have stayed at Blantyre Prison for eight months, believes that his detention is unlawful.
He said the State’s delay to conclude his matter is an indication that it lacks evidence and that he is being denied justice.
Commenting on the matter in an interview yesterday, Centre for Human Rights Education Advice and Assistance (Chreaa) executive director Victor Mhango said it is sad that some inmates are staying in prison illegally.
He suggested that those inmates whose remand warrants expired should be given bail.
Said Mhango: “The majority of inmates detained illegally in the country’s prisons are the less privileged who cannot afford to hire a lawyer. Detaining them while their remand warrants have expired is like public institutions denying its citizen’s access to justice.”
In a separate interview, Cunima head of practical legal studies Canisius Kadyampakeni said despite organising the legal clinic for academic purposes, it will also help to process bail applications for some inmates who cannot afford to hire private practice lawyers.
According to national data, the prison population in Malawi stands at about 17 000, placing severe strain on facilities whose official capacity is only around 7 000.
According to the World Prison Brief, about 17.6 percent of Malawi’s prison population comprises pre-trial detainees (remand prisoners).
As of March 2024, about 5 200 detainees, representing roughly 31percent of all prisoners in the country, were reported to be awaiting trial.
A 2023 audit by the Paralegal Advisory Service Institute found that in two major prisons (Maula and Mzuzu), 66 to 67 percent of remand prisoners were eligible for release under the law.
The same audit revealed a “high proportion of remand ‘over stayers’ not confirmed by the High Court,”—meaning many detainees remain in custody longer than legally allowed.
