The Speaker of Parliament, Rebecca Kadaga has called for a partnership with private players to help improve the lives and conditions of prisoners.
Kadaga who was meeting heads of different private and public firms said the partnership would help the inmates transform from a life of jail or crime to become responsible citizens who can contribute to the development of the country especially when they leave prison.
“I am part of All Saints Cathedral and we are encouraged to bless a prisoner annually. Last year, I partnered with some of you and realized that it is bigger than just sending gifts. We need to strengthen our partnership for this cause,” said the Speaker.
The Speaker met executives from Vision Group, Luuka Plastics, Hotel Africana, Sheraton Hotel, Stanbic Bank and, GrinnStones among others.
The breakfast meeting was held to plan ways to engage and involve the business community in offering support to inmates in prisons countrywide.
It was held at Mestil Hotel in Kampala on Tuesday, 05 February 2019.
Kadaga commended the partners for their support to prisons and appealed to them to continue with their help.
Robert Kabushenga, the Vision Group CEO, pledged the corporation’s support to the cause.
“As the self-appointed Manager of this group of business people, we all agree that this is a valid cause, but we need a written proposal so that our Boards of Directors can consult and we move forward with this social responsibility,” Kabushenga said.
In December 2018, the speaker visited different prisons around Jinja and Luzira and presented Christmas gifts to the inmates, observing that their needs required more external support.
In 2014, the International Journal of Criminology ranked Uganda prisons the 7th most congested in the world and the 4th most congested in Africa.
The journal which supplemented findings of the Justice Law and Order (JLOs) annual performance report 2013/2014 indicated that the prison capacity is almost half of the inmate population.
Several prominent legislators among them Betty Nambooze Bakireke and Ibrahim Ssemujju Nganda have written extensively describing the appalling conditons in Ugandan prisons.
