Mozambique: Government plans to build 13 new prisons in five years

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Mozambique: Government plans to build 13 new prisons in five years

6:01 CAT | 26 Nov 2025

FILE - For illustration purposes only. [File photo: Lusa]

Mozambique’s justice minister, Mateus Saize, has announced the construction of 13 new prisons over the next five years to solve the problem of overcrowding in the country’s jails, which are currently operating at more than double their capacity.

“We are starting the activities for the 2025-2029 five-year period. This is the first laying of the foundation stone for the construction of the 13 prisons planned for this period,” the minister told the media.

According to Mateus Saize, 10 district-level prisons and three regional-level prisons will be built during this period.

“Of the 10 district [prisons], we will give priority to districts that have courts but no prison facilities to house the prison population,” he explained, adding that the government is still in the first phase of construction.

According to the minister, Mozambique has around 138 establishments, including general and special prisons, but he acknowledged that their capacity falls short of the needs of prisoners.

“We have around 8,000 beds in national prisons to accommodate around 20,000 inmates. This means that we have overcrowding of more than double the installed capacity at the national level, and the construction aims to provide more humane treatment for prisoners,” said the minister.

In addition to the new prisons, Mozambique’s government will also provide prisoners with training, developing, among other things, agricultural activities to “give prisoners a profession” so that, when they return to their families, they will be able to work.

The justice minister also said in August that work is underway to implement an electronic tagging system in the country “in the near future,” as the use of alternative sentences is being discussed to address prison overcrowding.

In July, Mozambican President Daniel Chapo called for a prison system that focuses on rehabilitation and is not limited to “punitive action” against prisoners, acknowledging “structural constraints” in the face of prison overcrowding.

In July, the vice-president of the Mozambican Supreme Court, Matilde Almeida, also acknowledged difficulties in implementing “alternative sentences” in the prison system due to prisoner escapes, warning of overcrowding.

Source: Lusa