PRISON GUARDS SACKED FOR HELPING INMATES ESCAPE

Mozambican authorities have sacked 34 prison guards for accepting briberies and helping 74 inmates to escape. Eduardo Mussanhane, Director General of Prisons, on Wednesday announced this figures at the opening session of the VII Coordinating Council of the Justice Ministry, in the district of Boane, in the province of Maputo, reports the daily paper “Noticias”.He added that the prison guards faced disciplinary action and criminal charges, and most have been sacked or removed from their positions. According to Mussanhane, the authorities have recaptured 50 inmates from January 2010 to date, while three were killed during an exchange of fire with the police after refusing orders to surrender. The rest remain at large. The operations to recapture the escapees were carried out by the prison guard, in coordination with the Police and other relevant authorities. With 21 escapees, the prison of Nampula, in the northern region of Mozambique tops he list followed by Manica, Gaza, Maputo and Zambezia. Last week, said Mussanhane, the authorities foiled a scheme to release three prisoners from the Maximum Security Prison in Maputo, commonly known as “BO”. He said the prison guards connected with the case have been identified, and disciplinary proceedings and criminal charges have been initiated, which eventually may lead to their expulsion. Questioned about the systematic escapes of inmates from the prison system, Justice Minister, Benvinda Levi explained that it is due to weaknesses in the security system and poor training of prison guards. As for infrastructures, Benvinda Levi said that more than half of the country’s 128 districts do not have secure prison facilities to accommodate inmates. To overcome the problem, the government is upgrading and building new facilities. However, financial constraints are still one of the major problems. Participants of the 3-day meeting will take stock of activities carried out in 2010 and first half of 2011, as well as discuss the activities for the second half of 2011 and 2012.