About 55km northwest of Kampala CBD lies Kitalya – a quiet village located in Busunju County Wakiso district. Amid Kitalya’s cascading plains and sprawling green is a towering 5-acre prison facility under construction and this is a prison project like no other. 

Welcome to Kitalya Mini-Max Prison.

Today a team from the Justice, Law and Order Sector (JLOS) led by Dr. Johnson Byabashaija, the Prisons Service Commissioner General visited the construction site to get first hand experience of the progress made so far. Accompanied by a delegation from the JLOS Secretariat, the JLOS Construction committee, ICRC, members of Parliament and a number of officials from Uganda Prisons, Dr. Byabashaija was given a guided tour of this imposing facility by the lead consultant, Arch. Enock Kibbamu from Plantek Limited.

Described by the Commissioner General as “Uganda’s first ever real post-colonial prison”, Kitalya Mini-Max easily fits this glowing description and the facts don’t lie. 

Here is a sneak peek:

Big sized prison wards and 30 cells (all fitted with modern sanitary facilities) that can accommodate up to 4,000 inmates; a fully fledged medical wing complete with an inpatient section and isolation rooms for contagious diseases; about 70 CCTV camera points and a control room (24 hour surveillance on site and offsite); modern kitchen equipped with power saving technology; classroom blocks equipped with a computer lab and library; a large workshop block specifically designed and built for prison industry activities; full-fledged sport facilities (a football pitch, volley ball court, basket ball court and lawn tennis court); a multipurpose hall; multiple watch towers; and a modern administration block.

All this (and much more) at only 18.3 bn Ushs, which is by all measures a modest, and conservative figure given the sheer volume of work and quality of workmanship on display today.

According to Hon. Doreen Ruth Amule, the Chairperson of Parliament’s Defence and Internal Affairs Committee who was part of the visiting delegation, Kitalya Mini-Max success story is one of the reasons Uganda Prisons is easily among the most highly respected institutions in Uganda. She thanked Dr. Byabashaija for his exemplary leadership and integrity without which a project of this magnitude wouldn’t have been possible.

Uganda Prisons globally ranks high thanks to its award winning rehabilitation program. At Kitalya, the prison industry workshops and educational facilities being constructed within the prison underscore UPS’ goal to rehabilitate prisoners and make them better citizens.  Like one construction project official put it to me today, “Kitalya is simply a correctional facility and not just a prison. The design features speak for themselves”.

Started in June 2016, construction is set to be completed by June 2019 but it could even be much earlier (around February 2019) thanks to the tireless efforts of the contractor (Ambitious Construction Co. Ltd), the consultant (Plantek Limited) and the Prisons project management team. 

Big tasks still remain though: to equip this prison facility and operationalize it once construction works are completed. This requires funding to procure furniture and fixtures as well as facilities for staff to manage and run the prison. 

However from today’s visit, one thing is crystal clear: Kitalya Mini-Max prison project with support from the Justice, Law and Order Sector is no doubt on course to make history and become a game changer in the war on prison congestion and the quest to take prisoner rehabilitation to a whole new level.

By Edgar Kuhimbisa / Published: 12 Nov 2018

The Justice, Law and Order Sector (JLOS) has been at the forefront of reforming Uganda’s justice system since its inception in 1999. Nineteen years on, the achievements, milestones and success stories are visible, challenges notwithstanding. From reforms in commercial justice to the good legislative and policy environment, unprecedented infrastructure development (construction of numerous justice centres across the country) to award-winning innovations and initiatives (small claims procedures, alternative dispute resolution mechanisms, sentencing guidelines, plea bargaining, etc,) – the sector is on course in its bid to create a pro-people justice system in Uganda.

It is, however, important to further examine how “pro-people” the workings of the sector are. Pro-people in this context is that JLOS has over the years strived to champion the cause of the vulnerable, the poor and generally those who are disadvantaged in different ways – financially, socially and even physically.

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NOTE: This article was originally published in the Daily Monitor on 17th January 2019.

By Edgar Kuhimbisa / Published: January 17, 2019 

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FOREWORD BY THE CHIEF JUSTICE

For 15 years, the Justice Law and Order Sector (JLOS) has spearheaded the promotion of the rule of law and access to justice for all Ugandans. JLOS has become synonymous with cutting-edge reforms and innovations in the justice system, these which can be traced back to the highly acclaimed Chain Linked Initiative first launched in 1999. In doing so, the Sector has driven improvements in infrastructure, human development, and institutional capacity as well as introduced new ways of delivering justice and ensuring law and order

From promoting Community Policing, a joint effort approach that allows the Uganda Police and the communities within which they serve to work together to maintain law and order, to prioritizing children’s cases in courts in an effort for improved juvenile justice, to improving the environment for doing business through commercial justice reforms, the Sector has undoubtedly impacted the lives of many Ugandans. JLOS is committed to concretizing these efforts especially to serve the poorest and most vulnerable among the Ugandan population.

It is my pleasure therefore to introduce this publication that highlights some JLOS innovations and interventions that tell of the Sector’s impact over the years. These stories highlight our demonstrated pledge to ensure justice for all and JLOS’s contribution to building a renewed trust in the institutions mandated with delivering justice in Uganda. Further to that, they provide an insight into the ideal future that we envisage for the Sector and for the Ugandan society as far as justice, law and order are concerned.

While the stories highlighted reflect how far the Sector has come, we are cognizant of the challenge for continuous improvement and accept it with a renewed zeal. JLOS, therefore, remains dedicated to the creation of a society that protects and promotes fundamental rights, one that ensures the respect of law as well as one that works to build the necessary structures to nurture a vibrant and growing economy for Uganda. As we work more closely with our partners in Government, civil society, the international community, and with Ugandans from all walks of life, we look forward to greater achievements in the years to come.

Bart M. Katureebe

Chief Justice of the Republic of Uganda

October 10, 2015 

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Produced by LPLC Consult Uganda, Ltd. for JLOS - the Justice Law and Order Sector in Uganda 

Financed by the Austrian Development Cooperation (ADC) © 2015 - The Justice, Law and Order Sector (Government of the Republic of Uganda). All Rights Reserved.

Lead Writer and Editor:

 Annet Mbabazi Ntezi

JLOS Editorial Team:

Rachel Odoi-Musoke

Sam Rogers Wairagala

Edgar Kuhimbisa

Design and Layout:

Gerald Ssali (87 Eight Seven)