Uganda’s prison system is facing an unprecedented crisis, with overcrowding reaching alarming levels, prompting Interior Minister Kahinda Otafiire to call for immediate government action. Speaking before Parliament’s Defence and Internal Affairs Committee, he stressed that constructing new facilities and boosting the number of judicial officers are the most effective ways to ease mounting pressure on the country’s correctional institutions.
Delays in the judicial process have left many inmates languishing in detention far longer than their eventual sentences. “We have people serving six months who have spent three years waiting for their cases to be heard because there aren’t enough resources to process them,” Otafiire noted, highlighting the human cost of systemic inefficiencies.
The minister also raised concerns over plea bargaining, cautioning that it often forces inmates to accept criminal records after enduring prolonged detention. “They cannot plea bargain fairly when they have already spent years behind bars for a sentence that might have lasted only months,” he said, underscoring the ethical dilemmas caused by systemic delays.
Relying on parole as a solution is similarly problematic, Otafiire argued. Effective parole implementation demands funding and supervision systems that are currently lacking. “Monitoring parolees requires resources at the local level that simply aren’t available yet,” he said, suggesting that parole alone cannot resolve the crisis.
The scale of the problem is staggering. Uganda’s prisons currently hold over 80,000 inmates, more than three times their official capacity of 23,000. Deputy Commissioner General Samuel Akena revealed that many cells built for one person now house four, creating severe operational and financial challenges for the institution.
Officials warn that without immediate intervention, the prison population could surge to more than 111,000 by 2030, largely driven by extended remand periods. To address this, the Uganda Prisons Service is seeking Shs75.099 billion to construct 50 prison wards, three local security prisons, and regional minimax facilities, aiming to relieve chronic congestion.
Minister of State for Internal Affairs David Muhoozi emphasized the need for a multi-faceted approach. He called for reforms to speed up case handling and reduce pre-trial detention, asserting that tackling delays before trial is just as crucial as expanding prison infrastructure.
Authorities revealed that regulations for a national parole system are in the final stages of preparation and are expected to launch in the 2026/27 financial year. Once in place, it will complement other measures, offering a comprehensive strategy to manage Uganda’s prison crisis and improve justice delivery.
