No conjugal rights for inmates - Byabashaija

May 06, 2013

The prisons department is not yet prepared to grant inmates the right to conjugal rights, the Commissioner General of Prisons, Dr. Johnson Byabashaija, has said.

By Petride Mudoola

The prisons department is not yet prepared to grant inmates the right to conjugal rights, the Commissioner General of Prisons, Dr. Johnson Byabashaija, has said.

“I do not have a problem with conjugal visits, but Prisons is not yet able to provide these services because we neither have facilities nor the mechanism to offer them. We have far pressing issues to deal with like improving the welfare of the prisoners,” he said

This comes after officials from the Uganda Law Society asked Parliament to amend the prisons Act to ensure that prisoners are granted conjugal rights.

Patrick Nyakana, a commissioner with the Uganda Law Society, argued that the clause is not reflected in the Prisons Act, yet it is a human right.

Last year, during celebrations to mark the World Aids Day, inmates of Luzira Prison asked to be granted the right to have sex with their spouses within the prison walls, saying this would help in their rehabilitation.

The prisoners further argued that granting them rights to have sex within the detention facility will also help to reduce the HIV/AIDS prevalence rate among inmates.”

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