By Solister Mogha

Zomba, February 1, Mana: Presidential advisory committee on pardon of prisoners has appealed to prison authorities for better living conditions of inmates in the country's prisons.

The committee, led by Minister of Justice Titus Mvalo, made the appeal Wednesday in Zomba during a tour of Zomba Maximum Prison to, among others, appreciate living conditions of prisoners, apart from learning more about correctional services the Malawi Prisons Service offer.

Speaking after the tour, Mvalo, who is the chair of the committee, said having visited Maula and Zomba Maximum Prisons, there was need for the country to completely change the way prisoners are treated and provide them with quality services.

The minister further said it was better to provide the prisoners with quality service, adding that this was not an era for the prisoners to sleep on the floor.

The presidential advisory committee on pardon of prisoners also observed that cells at Zomba Maximum Prison were poorly ventilated and have no sanitary facilities such as toilets.

"The committee is sad to learn about the conditions in which inmates are living. Just imagine 60 prisoners being congested in a room meant for 20 people. Additionally, there are people who have stayed for more years on remand and some are too old to be in the cells," Mvalo said, adding the committee will brief the president about what it learnt during the prison tour.

As a way of addressing congestion in prison, Mvalo said there was need to utilize provisions which allow a prisoner released but advised to follow set conditions.

"Within our constitution, there are provisions that allow the court to offer conditional sentences. We however rarely implemented these provisions," he said and expressed satisfaction with reform services that the prison offers despite facing challenges.

Deputy Commissioner of Prison Service responsible for Legal Affairs and Operations, Baziria Chapuwala, acknowledged the conditions in the prisons and said prisoners too deserve better life.

"It is our hope and expectation that the committee would report what they found to the President so that changes are made," he said.

The advisory committee recommends to the head of state as to which prisoner should be pardoned, having fulfilled all the required conditions with the president having the power to choose who should be released.

Zomba maximum prison currently has 2,016 inmates.