Mbabane: Prisons’ spokesperson, Gugulethu Dlamini, said she needed to set the record straight that the recently released prisoners had not been freed as part of the Covid-19 parole.
“The freed inmates are still part of the prisons but have only been let go through a long existing program called Extra-Mural Penal Employment (EPE). The spokesperson said she was aware of speculation that the inmates had been released due to Covid-19 parole which is far from the truth, adding that Eswatini is unlike other countries including the Republic of South Africa, which freed thousands of its inmates amidst the outbreak of the coronavirus pandemic.
Dlamini said the freed inmates are common prisoners which serve time for petty crimes and while in prison learn skills which they use on liberation. Dlamini said the EPE program allows the correctional services to release such inmates to finish their sentences at home, while at the same time sticking to set rules like waking up every morning and going to do a chore in line with what they had learnt in jail.
Dlamini said the EPE program is kind of like the Community Service Program which is meted by the courts where prisoners are sentenced to do community work for a period of time. “The difference between the EPE and the Community Service Program is that the former goes via the correctional services while the latter is monitored directly from the courts,” said the spokesperson.
Overcrowding in maximum section
The prisons’ spokesperson revealed that there is overcrowding at the Matsapha maximum section, which has made it difficult for prisoners to ably observe the social distancing regulation. She said notwithstanding, the prisoners are cautious of safety measures and they abide by all the other rules, in addition to reminding each other of adhering to precautionary measures. Dlamini said it is amazing that prisoners would not take advantage of the Covid-19 situation and seek to escape from prison.
They would do this by being reckless with their lives in terms of hygiene and adhering to regulation, all in an effort to contract the virus which would lead to them being isolated and perhaps released. “Prisoners have done all sorts of ridiculous things to escape from jail but none have taken advantage of the Covid-19 situation,” said the spokesperson. She added that in fact, the prisoners are suspicious of the warders and not as welcoming due to the latter being free to roam around and thus exposing themselves to the risk of contracting the deadly virus.
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