Member of Parliament for Mokhethoaneng, MokhothuMakhalanyane, is concerned about overcrowding in Lesotho’s correctional facilities.
Makhalanyane said the situation is dire, with severe overcrowding posing serious worries over hygiene, health, and human dignity.
The Maseru Central Correctional Institution (MCCI), designed to hold 600 inmates, is bursting at the seams with 850 prisoners crammed into its cells. Other correctional facilities across the country, meant to accommodate 70, are home to over 250 inmates.
“The conditions in our prisons are inhumane. We are putting the lives of inmates at risk, and it’s only a matter of time before things escalate,” Makhalanyanenoted yesterday in his order paper in parliament.
He stated that overcrowding has led to an increased risk of diseases such as TB and scabies spreading rapidly through the facilities.
The Ombudsman, Advocate Tlotliso Polaki, has also expressed concern about the overcrowding.
In her 2023 report titled: ‘Hospitals, Human Rights Inspection Report’, Adv Polaki revealed that 50 percent of correctional facilities in Lesotho were found to be overcrowded, with some cells housing more than double the number of inmates they were designed for.
The report also highlighted the dire conditions of correctional facilities and hospitals with overcrowding being a major contributor to rights violations such as inadequate healthcare, poor sanitation and unsafe living conditions, as well as shortage of blankets, among others.
The conditions, combined with lack of access to healthcare education and adequate nutrition, creates an environment of poor physical and mental health.
They also create increased risk of violence and disease among prisoners, the Ombudsman’s report says.
Lesotho has an estimated 2,600 inmates.
