SOPs didn’t apply in Ugandan prisons due to congestion

By Prossy Kisakye

Research findings on the impact of Covid-19 on detainees in Uganda show that the customized Standard Operation Procedures put in place by prison authorities could not apply due to the alarming rate of congestion in prisons across the country.

This is followed by government failure to include prisons and other detention centers on the list of those ordinarily congested as it was implementing the SOPs during covid-19 lockdown.

The lead researcher from Makerere University Dr Josephine Ndagire says the administrative measures could not find solution to overcrowding and access to justice.

Dr. Ndagire now recommends that health service capacity in detention facilities be strengthened and the scope for vaccination be widened.

Written by Noelyn Nassuuna