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Prison Reform

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NEWS RELEASE: Malawi High Court upholds protection of undocumented immigrants from arbitrary and indefinite detention.

30 July 2024, Blantyre – Yesterday,  the Mzuzu High Court ordered that 30 days should be the reasonable time envisaged under the Immigration Act within which deportation of undocumented immigrants…
Prison
Criminal Justice

Mozambique: Challenging privileged conditions in prison for the rich

On 24 May 2023, 2000 Mozambican citizens, under the leadership of lawyer and human rights activist, Maria Alice Mabota, filed a petition before the Constitutional Council against section 8(2) of…
Criminal Justice

Malawi: Case concerning malnutrition in prisons

Background The Constitution of the Republic of Malawi states in Section 42(1)(b) that “every person who is detained, including every sentenced prisoner, shall have the right to be detained under…
Criminal Justice

Malawi: Seeking an effective and humane response to MDR-TB in prisons

Case Citation: Banda & Others v the Attorney General & Others (Constitutional Case No 120 of 2018), Zomba District Registry; Makwiza & Another v the Attorney General & Others (Civil…

Completed Cases

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Criminal Justice

Zambia: Health rights of HIV-positive prisoners

SALC is working with the Legal Resources Foundation in Zambia to secure the rights of HIV-positive prisoners to treatment, adequate food and improvements to prison conditions. The applicant inmates alleged…
Criminal Justice

Malawi: Challenging the imprisonment of children

Factual Background In 2018, a case was brought by civil society organisations were concerned that the conditions in Bvumbwe and Kachere prisons are deplorable and not in the best interests…
Criminal Justice

Lesotho: Palliative care for military prisoners

SALC supported a case brought by private lawyer, Advocate Mole Kumalo, to compel the Lesotho Defense Force (LDF) to permit a soldier being held in detention to access medical care,…
Botswana

Botswana: Securing access to HIV treatment for prisoners

SALC worked with the Botswana Network on Ethics, Law and AIDS (BONELA) to challenge the Botswana government’s policy of refusing HIV treatment to non-citizen prisoners. Citizen prisoners were entitled to…

Articles

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Articles

What’s new in the Prison Bill 2025

Weekend Nation 5 April 2025 Chikondi Chijozi The Prisons Act in Malawi was enacted into law in 1956. When Malawi adopted the 1994 Constitution, which entrenched the Bill of Rights…
Articles

The right to vote for prisoners in SADC

African LII 19 March 2025 By Anneke Meerkotter The treatment of prisoners in any country reflects its level of democracy and commitment to the rule of law. However, many citizens…
Articles

Ensuring prisoners’ right to food

African LII 19 March 2025 By Anneke Meerkotter “The conditions are very poor … I can say beyond human living … something you cannot imagine. We would sometimes sleep on…
Articles

Addressing TB in SADC prisons

AfricanLII 13 March 2025 By Anneke Meerkotter James (not his real name) is a 36-year-old man living with HIV who was convicted and sentenced to four years in Maula Prison,…

Resources

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Criminal Justice

The ties that bind us

This collection of photos is curated in honour of Desmond Tutu, who continues to inspire our work. Click here to view the English, Portuguese, and French exhibition booklet.
Articles

What’s new in the Prison Bill 2025

Weekend Nation 5 April 2025 Chikondi Chijozi The Prisons Act in Malawi was enacted into law in 1956. When Malawi adopted the 1994 Constitution, which entrenched the Bill of Rights…
Articles

Petty policing practices

African Disability Rights Yearbook Volume 12 Petty policing practices: Enforcement of minor offences against persons with psychosocial disabilities in three East African countries By Anneke Meerkotter Anneke Meerkotter contributed an…
Angola

Compêndio de jurisprudência sobre direitos humanos

Entre 2014 e 2024, os juízes e a comunidade jurídica que participaram no Fórum Regional Africano de Juízes (ARJF) discutiram vários casos que fizeram avançar os direitos humanos e a…