Mozambique prisoners demand higher education in jail

MAPUTO, Mozambique

The Inmates of the Maputo City Preventive Prison (colloquially known as the Cadeia Civil) have demanded the provision of higher education inside the establishment, in order to continue their studies.

The demand was revealed on Monday, during a visit that deputies of the Mozambican Parliament, the Assembly of the Republic, who are members of the Parliamentary Youth Office (GJP), made to the prison.

"We have colleagues who are graduates, others lack two or three years to finish their degree but do nothing. So, we are asking them to set up a university here so that we can continue the classes”, a prisoner named Francisca Ibrahim said.

According to Francisca, prisoners with a university degree should be released to teach their fellow inmates so that when they get out, they will be an asset to society.

Besides academic studies, Francisca said there are inmates with various talents that they can pass on to others, such as foreign languages, carpentry, and music.

For another prisoner named Hermenegildo Muadeia, the establishment does not have the required conditions to attend to sick inmates, especially an emergency room, as well as an adequate medical center with an effective team. “If we were trained in first aid, we could help each other without waiting for the doctors”, he said.

He also denounced the overcrowding in the prison, stressing that most of the inmates sleep outdoors and on the floor without safe hygienic conditions.

Another prisoner, named only as Elísio M, said complaints are always the same, and have been presented to previous parliamentary delegations, but the Deputies never solve them.

Speaking at the meeting, the chairperson of the GJP, Olívia Matavele, observed the concerns of the inmates, promising to send them immediately to the Ministry of Justice.

"Our role here is to collect your concerns so that we can then call the attention of the competent entities to act to overcome your problems”, she said, adding that the office has travelled to the jail to see what has been done since the last two visits by other deputies to remedy the irregularities noted at the time.“

"Our desire is to see ‘zero youth in jails’ in Mozambique. So, we have must carry out inspections at all times”, she said.

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