A dozen teenagers, some as young as 14, have been serving sentences at Bvumbwe Prison in Thyolo instead of being committed to reformatory centres as required by the law that was passed in 2010.
Section 140 of the Child Care, Protection and Justice Bill, which was passed by Parliament in April 2010, stipulates that “No child shall be imprisoned for any offence”.
The subsequent section specifies that “Where a child is found responsible for offences listed in the Sixth Schedule, the court shall order him to be detained at a reformatory centre for a period as may be specified in the order.”
However, it has been established that magistrates have been sending children to serve sentences in prisons.
Over the past five years, 11 teenagers have been languishing at Bvumbwe Prison, a direct violation of their rights.
Under the Constitution, children in conflict with the law are to be sent to reformatory schools where the Child Case Review Board, upon visiting the centres, are mandated to release them if they have been deemed to have reformed enough to be ushered into society.
But the scenario where children are sent to the prisons has resulted in cases where the teenagers are ‘forgotten’ there as the Child Case Review Board has no mandate to monitor children that have been committed to prison.
And the prison cannot release the children unless there is an order from the Child Case Review Board.
If no such order is made, the children can languish in prison forever.
Last month, 11 teenagers were released from Bvumbwe Prison after Centre for Human Rights Education, Advice and Assistance (Chreaa) brought their case before the Child Case Review Board that ordered their immediate release.
One of them, Stewart Mikana, then 14, was committed to Bvumbwe Prison on January 13 2009 by the Nsanje First Grade Magistrate’s Court for breaking into a building and committing a felony.
In an interview this week, Judge Edward Twea, who chairs the Child Case Review Board, conceded that lapses in effecting the law has led to the violation of children’s rights.
Twea, however, said strides are being made to ensure that the law serves everyone regardless of age.
“The change of law was not communicated to all magistrates, which is why we still see some of these children still being sent to prison. But we have been making plenty of progress as you would note that every district now has a designated child magistrate who has been trained to handle child cases.
“We have even trained prosecutors and social welfare officers in the districts but we are trying to expand beyond the district level. We are trying to ensure that the designated magistrate can travel to the satellite courts where they will handle child cases,” Twea said.
Chreaa executive director Victor Mhango noted that it is wrong for children to be committed to prison.
“Under the law, they are supposed to be sent to reformatory centres at Chilwa in Zomba or Mpemba in Blantyre, which are both run by the Ministry of Gender and [Child Welfare] because prison warders are not trained to deal with children. This is so because children are supposed to be reformed and not jailed. But when you go to Bvumbwe Prison, the children are mixed with adults, a clear violation of their rights.”
Mhango said it is imperative for the Judiciary to have a system that ensures that children are not sent to prison.
“The law should be respected, not only in theory but practically as well,” he said.
