As one way of making sure that prisoners at Ntcheu prison have enough space for accommodation, a Balaka based organisation Prison Fellowship Malawi (PFM) is geared to construct a new a cell at the prison premises.
Speaking with inspector Billy Kaphambale said the prison is accommodating many prisoners exceeding its recommended capacity and that the new cell will help a lot in accommodating the inmates.
“In it’s capacity the prison is supposed to accommodate 250 inmates and now we have 314 but sometimes the number goes up to 400 which is not good,” inspector Kaphambale explained.
He added that this congestion poses a health risk to the inmates in terms of contagious diseases.
In his remarks Prison Fellowship Malawi executive Director Roderick Zalimba concurred with Inspector Kaphambale saying with overcrowding in the prison that is why there are many cases of contagious diseases like Tuberculosis and scabies in prisons.
“Some inmates have these diseases but it takes time for them to come in the light to tell on their health status in the end you find others also infected,said Zalimba.
The construction of the prison cell is expected to start soon.