Officer in Charge (OC) for Karonga Prison Superintendent Emily Banda has called on well-wishers to help them finish the construction of a new cellblock after the old structure was destroyed by an earthquake in 2009.
Speaking with Malawi News Agency (MANA) Tuesday, Banda said at the moment, 93 inmates are putting up in offices which have been turned into makeshift cells.
“With money from our allocation of Other Recurring Transactions (ORT), in 2021 we started constructing a self-contained cellblock which can accommodate 150 inmates and at the moment the project has stalled. We need any well-wisher to help us with cement, beams, window and door frames, roofing and toilet sets.
“The structure is being constructed by the inmates themselves and once the materials are available, the work will be completed and issues of congestion at the prison will be dealt with,” Banda said.
The OC went on to say prisons are reformation centres and hence inmates deserve better living conditions just like any other Malawian citizen.
By George Mponda, Mana