Prime Minister Benvinda Levi on Wednesday, July 23, defended the need to strengthen the monitoring mechanisms for alternative sentences to imprisonment as a way to combat overcrowding in national prisons, a “challenging reality” that continues to affect the country’s penitentiary system, according to Lusa news agency.
“Our penitentiary system still faces a challenging reality related to the overcrowding of prisons, as well as the difficulties in maintaining security and discipline among inmates,” said the Prime Minister during the opening of a symposium in Maputo on Alternative Sentences and Perspectives on Reducing Overcrowding in Correctional Facilities.
Benvinda Levi warned of the “serious implications” of prison overcrowding on the human rights of inmates, social reintegration, and citizens’ trust in the justice system. She therefore called for “concrete actions” to improve the implementation of alternative sentencing, highlighting the need for greater dissemination of existing legal instruments, ongoing training for justice sector operators, and a legal culture centered on restorative justice. “The inmate is not a number, nor a problem. They are a citizen, a human being, and as such must be treated with dignity,” she emphasized.
According to data from the Ministry of Justice, Mozambique houses around 21,000 inmates, although the penitentiary system’s installed capacity is 4,498. This discrepancy places additional pressure on security, justice, and social rehabilitation institutions. Matilde Almeida, Vice President of the Supreme Court, recently acknowledged difficulties in applying alternative sentences due to recurring episodes of detainee escapes, a problem that undermines trust in the system and the effectiveness of alternative measures.
Government Plans to Build 13 New Prisons
On Monday (21st), during the launch of the 50th anniversary celebrations of the National Penitentiary Service, the institution’s Director-General, Ilídio Miguel, once again advocated the use of alternative sentences as one of the strategies to mitigate overcrowding.
“If, alongside the construction of new facilities, we effectively implement alternative sentences to imprisonment, we will also be able to reduce the issue of overcrowding,” he stated.
The government plans to build 13 new penitentiary facilities by 2029 in an effort to expand the system’s capacity. Currently, the country has almost 160 prisons, including regional, provincial, and district establishments. In July 2023, the government had already announced its intention to build at least 10 district prisons across the national territory.
However, the authorities stress that infrastructure alone will not solve the problem. For Benvinda Levi, criminal justice must be an instrument of reconciliation, rehabilitation, and hope, not a “machine of exclusion.”
Source: Diário Económico
