Mozambique: Prison disturbances in Nampula denied

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Mozambique: Prison disturbances in Nampula denied

8:16 CAT | 23 Jun 2020

File photo: Rádio Moçambique

Mozambique’s Deputy Justice Minister, Filimao Suaze, on Saturday denied reports of disturbance in the two largest prisons in the northern province of Nampula.

Speaking in Nampula city, Suaze was reacting to reports that prisoners had demonstrated against food shortages in the provincial and regional penitentiaries, both located in the city.

He said he had visited the two prisons on Thursday and Friday, and had found no protests. “Neither of the prisons has recorded any kind of insurrection or demonstration by the inmates”, he stressed. “I didn’t see this during the visits I made, and there’s no record of anything of the sort in the information given to me”.

As for the prisoners’ food, Suaze said there is enough for the immediate future. “We found food there, and I can assure you that, in both establishments, there is food for the next 30 days”, he said. “I should mention the presence of chickens, rice, beans and maize. So there is no record of pockets of hunger in these places. Nampula is one of the provinces where we have made great advances in the production of food by the inmates themselves, in the vegetable gardens of the regional penitentiary”.

Suaze believed that the rumour about demonstrations might have started as a misunderstanding about the measures taken to prevent the spread of the Covid-19 respiratory disease under the current state of emergency.

“As you know, visits to prisoners are forbidden in order to avoid contamination by Covid-19”, he said. “Perhaps some people outside, among the prisoners’ families, might be trying to stir up agitation to bring pressure to bear to relax some of the measures imposed under the state of emergency”.

Suaze, however, believed that the preventive measures should remain in force because they are crucial in defending the health of the prisoners. He pointed to a continuing sharp increase in the number of Covid-19 cases in Nampula City. Under these circumstances, he thought there was no justification for lifting the ban on people visiting their relatives in the jails.

As for overcrowding in the prisons, Suaze said measures are under way to alleviate the situation, and he pointed to the pardon granted by President Filipe Nyusi to more than 5,000 prisoners serving short sentences. The purpose of the pardon was largely to tackle overcrowding.

He claimed the various bodies involved in the administration of justice are working together to ensure greater speed in the processing of criminal cases. “We are doing our best so that prisoners are fed and are re-educated so that they can be reinserted into society”, said Suaze.

Source: AIM