rising homosexuality among prisoners irks byabashaija

By Tabu Butagira (The Monitor, Kampala)

March 21, 2006: The Commissioner General of Prisons, Mr Johnson Byabashaija, has said homosexuality is peaking in most detention facilities countrywide.

He said inmates were being attracted to colleagues of the same sex primarily due to "long sexual deprivation and over-congestion, whereby heat radiates between them".

Byabashaija made the remarks during a news conference at New Mvara View Inn on the outskirts of Arua town on Sunday.

He said many inmates presently shun the "abhorrent" sexual practice because they consider it as "alien and shameful".

"But I am surprised nobody is making noise about female prisoners having sex among themselves. The talk is always on homosexuality," Byabashaija said. "These sexual vices are terrible."

There are currently about 20, 000 prisoners confined in the 48 central government prisons all over the country.
He said the prisons force had made significant strides in improving the welfare of its staff and that of inmates.

"Some of our warders used to walk in tattered civilian clothes with a gun slung on the back, just like rebels," Byabashaija said. "In some cases, their private parts were dangling out. But now the warders and prisoners are all uniformed and smart," he said.

Byabashaija said feeding and medical care for inmates had improved tremendously that "you do not hear of prisoners dying of malnourishment anymore".

"We have solved that problem of lack of food forever," Byabashaija said.

"And there are no more acts of torture or manhandling by warders to extort information from suspects."

He said the jailers had been sensitised about observing the rights of prisoners.