Prison visits across the country will resume on Monday, January 19, the Commissioner General of Prisons, Johnson Byabashaija, has announced, bringing to an end a temporary suspension imposed during the general election period.
Visits had been halted from Thursday as the country went to the polls, with prisons staff deployed to support election security operations at the request of the Inspector General of Police.
Appearing on NBS Television’s Spotlight Uganda, Byabashaija explained that the suspension was limited in scope and duration, and was intended to allow the Uganda Prisons Service to effectively manage its election-related responsibilities.
“We suspended visits to prisons only on the day before elections because we dispersed some of our staff to go and support the security operations and also to prepare for elections ourselves,” Byabashaija said.
He clarified that visits did not take place on Thursday and Friday as both days were public holidays, but confirmed that normal visitation schedules would resume thereafter.
“We didn't have visits on Thursday and Friday which were public holidays but tomorrow we shall resume visits to the prisons. The visiting of prisoners will be normal,” he said.
Byabashaija also said the election period passed without incident in all prisons across the country, describing the environment within correctional facilities as calm and orderly throughout the voting period.
“The voting period was absolutely peaceful. I don't think we recorded any incident between 7AM–5PM. I don't have any recorded incident as far as prison personnel were concerned,” he said.
He commended prisons staff for maintaining discipline, stability, and professionalism during the election period, noting that their conduct contributed to the smooth management of both custodial duties and election-related security support.
The resumption of visits is expected to ease concerns among families and relatives of inmates who had been unable to access correctional facilities during the brief suspension.
