 | |
| Location | Zomba, Malawi |
|---|---|
| Coordinates | 15°23′13″S35°19′09″E / 15.38694°S 35.31917°E |
| Status | Operational |
| Security class | Maximum (male and female) |
| Capacity | 340 |
| Opened | January 1935 |
| Managed by | Malawi Prison Service |
Zomba Central Prison is a referral national prison in Malawi. It is the biggest prison in Malawi. In January 2024, the prison was moved to Lilongwe. [1] [2] [3]
Zomba Central Prison was built in 1935 during the British colonial era in Malawi (then known as Nyasaland). It was designed to hold 340 prisoners and was intended to serve as a maximum-security facility for the country. [3] [4]
The prison has six cell blocks, including:
The prison also has facilities for prisoners to work and receive training, such as a workshop, a farm, and a tailoring shop. [3] [5]
The prison is the location of the musical collaboration Zomba Prison Project, a 20-track compilation produced by Ian Brennan and his wife Italian photographer Marilena Umuhoza Delli and released in 2015 by Six Degrees Records featuring recordings of compositions and performances by inmates at the prison. [6] The album was nominated for a Grammy Award for Best World Music Album, the first ever Grammy nomination by Malawian artists. [7]
Brennan and Delli, returned to the prison twice more in 2016 to compile a second album titled I Will Not Stop Singing. [8]
Some notable inmates who have been held at Zomba Central Prison include:
The prison has faced numerous challenges, including overcrowding, poor sanitation, and inadequate food and medical care for prisoners. In recent years, there have been efforts to improve conditions and reduce overcrowding, but the prison remains one of the most notorious in Malawi. [3]
Walnut Street Prison was a city jail and penitentiary house in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, from 1790 to 1838. Legislation calling for establishment of the jail was passed in 1773 to relieve overcrowding in the High Street Jail; the first prisoners were admitted in 1776. It was located at Sixth and Walnut Streets, where it acquired its original name Walnut Street Jail.
Lucius Chicco Banda, better known by his stage name Soldier Lucius Banda, was a Malawian singer-songwriter, music producer and politician from Balaka, Malawi.
Henry Masauko Blasius Chipembere was a Malawian nationalist politician who played a significant role in bringing independence from colonial rule to his native country, formerly known as Nyasaland. From an early age Chipembere was a strong believer in natural justice and, on his return in 1954 from university in South Africa, he joined his country's independence struggle as a nationalist strategist and spokesman. In 1957, considering that the independence movement needed a strong leader similar to Kwame Nkrumah, and considering himself too young for this task, he joined with other young nationalists in inviting Hastings Kamuzu Banda to return to Nyasaland as the movement's leader.
The Malawi prison system, managed by the Malawi Prison Service, has 23 district prison stations, which are either first class or second class prisons. Zomba Central Prison built in 1935 is the only maximum security prison in the country, holding prisoners with long sentences or serious offences. Severe overcrowding throughout the prison system provides a conducive environment for the rapid spread of HIV/AIDS and Tuberculosis.
His Majesty's Prison Lewes is a local category B prison located in Lewes in East Sussex, England. The term local means that the prison holds people on remand to the local courts, as well as sentenced prisoners. The prison is operated by His Majesty's Prison Service.
Orton Chirwa was a lawyer and political leader in colonial Nyasaland and after independence became Malawi's Minister of Justice and Attorney General. After a dispute with Malawi's autocratic President Hastings Kamuzu Banda, he and his wife Vera were exiled. After being kidnapped abroad they were tried in Malawi on charges of treason and sentenced to death. Amnesty International named the couple prisoners of conscience. After spending nearly eleven years on death row in Malawi, Orton Chirwa died in prison on 20 October 1992.
The cabinet crisis of 1964 in Malawi occurred in August and September 1964 shortly after independence when, after an unresolved confrontation between the Prime Minister, Hastings Banda and the cabinet ministers present on 26 August 1964, three ministers and a parliamentary secretary were dismissed on 7 September. These dismissals were followed by the resignations of three more cabinet ministers and another parliamentary secretary, in sympathy with those dismissed. Initially, this only left the President and one other minister in post, although one of those who had resigned rescinded his resignation within a few hours. The reasons that the ex-ministers put forward for the confrontation and subsequent resignations were the autocratic attitude of Banda, who failed to consult other ministers and kept power in his own hands, his insistence on maintaining diplomatic relations with South Africa and Portugal and a number of domestic austerity measures. It is unclear whether the former ministers intended to remove Banda entirely, to reduce his role to that of a non-executive figurehead or simply to force him to recognise collective cabinet responsibility. Banda seized the initiative, firstly, by dismissing some of the dissidents rather than negotiating, and secondly, by holding a debate on a motion of confidence on 8 and 9 September 1964. As the result of the debate was an overwhelming vote of confidence, Banda declined to reinstate any of the ministers or offer them any other posts, despite the urging of the Governor-General to compromise. After some unrest, and clashes between supporters of the ex-ministers and of Banda, most of the former left Malawi in October with their families and leading supporters, for Zambia or Tanzania. One ex-minister, Henry Chipembere went into hiding inside Malawi and, in February 1965 led a small, unsuccessful armed uprising. After its failure, he was able to arrange for his transfer to the USA. Another ex-minister, Yatuta Chisiza, organised an even smaller incursion from Mozambique in 1967, in which he was killed. Several of the former ministers died in exile or, in the case of Orton Chirwa in a Malawian jail, but some survived to return to Malawi after Banda was deposed and to return to public life.
Zomba Prison Project is a recording featuring music composed and performed by prisoners at the maximum-security Zomba Central Prison in Zomba, Malawi. The album I Have No Everything Here was produced by Ian Brennan, and nominated in the 2016 Grammy Award for Best World Music Album.
Ian Brennan is an American music producer.
Capital punishment in Malawi is a legal punishment for certain crimes. The country abolished the death penalty following a Malawian Supreme Court ruling in 2021, but it was soon reinstated. However, the country is currently under a death penalty moratorium, which has been in place since the latest execution in 1992.
Marilena Umuhoza Delli is a Rwandan-Italian photographer, filmmaker, radio presenter, and author. She is the author of four Italian-language books about racism and growing-up with an immigrant mother in one of Italy's most politically conservative region. Her work is exhibited at the MUDEC Museum in Milan. Her photographs have been published around the world by the BBC, CNN, NPR, Al Jazeera, The Guardian, VICE, Libération, Corriere della Sera, Le Monde, Rolling Stone, Smithsonian, and the New York Times, among others. In 2020, she was named one of the "Top 50 Women of the Year" by La Repubblica.
Maula Prison is a maximum-security prison located in Lilongwe, Malawi.
The Malawi Prison Service is a Malawian government agency responsible for the administration and management of prisons in Malawi.
The Malawi Prison Band, also known as the Malawi Police Band, is a music group composed of prisoners and officers from the Malawi Prison Service. In 2016 the group was nominated for the Grammy Award.
Chichiri Prison, also known as Blantyre Central Prison, is a maximum-security prison located in Blantyre, Malawi. The prison has a rich history spanning over a century, with significant events and developments shaping its purpose and operations.
Mzuzu Central Prison is a prison in Mzuzu City in Mzimba District, Malawi. The prison was built to address the growing need for a secure facility to hold criminals and political dissidents in the Northern Region of Malawi.
Lilongwe Central Prison is a prison in Malawi located in Lilongwe District established during the colonial era. Lilongwe Central Prison has a maximum capacity of approximately 2,500 inmates, although it often holds more due to overcrowding. The prison population consists of male and female inmates, including those on remand and convicted prisoners.
Kasungu Prison, also known as Kasungu Central Prison, is a maximum-security prison located in Kasungu, Malawi. Kasungu Prison is situated in the central region of Malawi, approximately 130 kilometers north of Lilongwe, the capital city. It is located in a rural area, surrounded by farmland and villages. The primary objectives of Kasungu Prison are to provide a secure and safe environment for prisoners, to offer rehabilitation programs and vocational training, and to prepare inmates for reintegration into society upon release. The aim of Kasungu Prison is to contribute to the reduction of crime and the promotion of community safety through the incarceration and rehabilitation of offenders.
Dedza Prison is the prison located in the town of Dedza, in the central region of Malawi, at the foot of Dedza Mountain. The prison was built to provide a secure and safe environment for prisoners, offer rehabilitation programs and vocational training, and prepare inmates for reintegration into society upon release.
Balaka Prison, also known as Balaka Maximum Security Prison, is a prison located in Balaka, Malawi. Balaka Prison has a capacity of approximately 1,500 inmates, but it often holds more than 2,000 prisoners due to overcrowding. The main objective of Balaka Prison is to provide a safe and secure environment for the rehabilitation and reintegration of offenders into society.
Prisons of Malawi | ||
|---|---|---|
| National level |  | |
| Regional level | ||
| District level | ||
| Women's prisons | ||
| Youth prisons | ||
| Local level | ||
| Prison Bands | ||
