news 1 April 2026 Daily Monitor (Uganda)
Uganda Prisons Overcrowded: 80,000 Inmates Cram into Space for 23,000
Uganda's prisons, designed for 23,104 inmates, now hold over 80,110 people, pushing occupancy to 345% and forcing four inmates per space. Officials urge Parliament for funds to build new facilities amid projections of 111,822 prisoners by 2030. Source: https://www.monitor.co.ug/uganda/news/national/prisons-officials-decry-congestion-as-number-of-inmates-surpasses-80-000-5410602
Uganda Prisons Service (UPS) officials have raised alarms over severe overcrowding, with the inmate population hitting 80,110 as of March 30, 2026. The facilities were built to hold just 23,104 people, resulting in a 345% occupancy rate.
Deputy Commissioner General Samuel Akena told Parliament’s Defence and Internal Affairs Committee that prison staff are squeezing four inmates into each designated space. ‘For every single space, it is being occupied by four people,’ he stated during the 2026/27 Ministerial Policy Statement review.
Of the total, 42,340 are convicts and 37,074 are on remand awaiting judgment. Undersecretary Samuel Emigu warned the numbers could surge to 111,822 by 2030 without action, calling for 50 new prison wards, three local security prisons, and regional minimax facilities at a cost of Shs75.1 billion shortfall.
State Minister for Internal Affairs Gen David Muhoozi advocated a multi-pronged approach including parole reforms, remand improvements, and new construction. However, Internal Affairs Minister Gen Kahinda Otafiire pushed for building more prisons and hiring additional judges, dismissing plea bargains as ineffective for long-remand cases.
Akena noted parole regulations are nearly finalized and could help alleviate pressure. Otafiire highlighted that many prisons date back to 1922, unable to cope with today’s tripled population, and inmates often serve years pre-trial exceeding their eventual sentences.
Source: Daily Monitor (Uganda)