Government introduces community service to decongest prisons

In a move to decongest its prisons, the government of Tanzania has introduced a programme under which convicts jailed for periods up to three years may have their sentences suspended by performing community services. "The goal is to reduce congestion in our prisons and inculcate behaviour change among the prisoners," Omari Mapuri, the minister for home affairs, said on Thursday. The programme took effect on Thursday and eligible prisoners are to begin community service under a pilot project in six of 21 regions in mainland Tanzania, Mapuri said. The semi-autonomous Zanzibar has a separate penal and reformatory system. Mapuri said community service would involve unpaid work for the benefit of the community, for a period to be fixed by the court but not exceeding the term of imprisonment. The work may include maintenance of public roads, afforestation, environmental conservation, water conservation and repair of public schools, hospitals and other institutions. "It could also include delivering services at orphanages, cleaning and manual work as well as specialist or professional services for the benefit of the community," he added. Moreover, Mapuri said there were about 45,000 inmates in Tanzania's jails. "These facilities were meant for only 20,000 prisoners but they are handling double the capacity," he said. He also said half of the inmates were remand prisoners awaiting the conclusion of their cases in different courts. However, Mapuri said the exact number of those expected to benefit from the programme had not been determined. Kenya, Malawi and Zimbabwe also have similar programmes.