Eba Kandovazu
WITH the continued spike in COVID-19 cases countrywide, the Commissioner-General of the Correctional Services, Raphael Hamunyela announced that all escorts of prisoners to public hospitals have been suspended.
He said that prisoners will only be taken to a hospital in an emergency situation.
Hamunyela announced the new directive in safety measures and said it would be effective immediately and will continue until 31 July 2021.
At the same time, the Commissioner-General announced that all new admissions to prisons from court proceedings must be isolated for seven days before prisoners will be integrated into the different sections and cells within a correctional facility.
“All transfers between prisons are suspended unless they are urgent and visits have been suspended. Lawyers who wish to consult their clients can do so over the phone,” he said.
According to Hamunyela, attendances at courts are suspended unless directed by the courts through the Commissioner General’s office.
“All correctional facilities must create inmate cleaning teams tasked to continuously spray and wipe down the facility with disinfectant chemicals in areas frequently used by prison populations and the public,” Hamunyela directed.
