By Otto Abut | CRN | Juba, Sept. 22, 2025
The Paramount Chief of Magwi County, Eastern Equatoria State, Ojara Aldo Akwilino, has raised an alarm over worsening conditions at Magwi Prison, which currently houses about 62 inmates transferred from Nimule, Torit, and Magwi.
Chief Ojara said the facility is severely overcrowded but noted that the ongoing construction of a new headquarters is expected to ease congestion once completed. Despite this, he warned of a looming humanitarian crisis as food shortages persist.
“It is almost going to nine or ten months, whereby the government is not sending food to the prisoners. There is no food. They are the ones looking for their own food,” Chief Ojara lamented.
He revealed that, in the absence of government support, inmates are sometimes sent to work for civilians in exchange for meals—raising concerns about their safety and dignity.
“People are coming to take them to the field. When they are taken, that person pays them, but they have to stand by with food for people to survive,” he added.
The Paramount Chief said repeated appeals to higher authorities have gone unanswered. He also disclosed that prisoners are forced to wear civilian clothes, complicating efforts to identify escapees.
“This issue has been raised by the in charge of the prison to the Equatoria authorities. There is no response given back,” he stressed.
Chief Ojara urged the government to urgently intervene to improve the welfare of inmates and strengthen customary courts, thereby easing the burden on the prison system. He said most cases handled under customary law involve minor assaults, adultery, theft, divorce, robbery, and abortion—highlighting assault and theft as the most difficult.
“The most challenging cases to handle are assault and theft. These are the major ones,” he explained.
According to him, theft cases often result in imprisonment, while adultery cases usually involve compensation. However, failure to meet such demands can still result in detention to “cool the anger” of affected families.
Meanwhile, Lam Michael Augustin, Head of Programs at the Community Initiative Development Association (CIDA), confirmed that a new prison facility under construction in Magwi is nearing completion. He stated that the facility would alleviate severe overcrowding and improve conditions for inmates.
The new prison includes administrative offices, separate detention areas for young boys, girls, adult women, and men, as well as indoor sanitary facilities.
“The current prison in Magwi is a temporary structure where male and female inmates are forced to share limited space. During our assessment, we found more than 150 prisoners crammed into small rooms, which is a serious human rights concern,” Augustin said.
He added that the new prison will restore dignity and safety to inmates while strengthening law enforcement efforts in the county.
“This project will give prisoners a safer, more humane space and improve infrastructure that benefits over 150 inmates in Magwi,” he added.
Augustin also revealed that CIDA will equip the new offices with tables, chairs, and other essentials before officially handing over the facility to the authorities at the end of September.
Beyond prison reform, he said CIDA, with support from UNDP, has been offering vocational training and startup support to farmers and youth, including gang groups in Nimule, to reduce the number of people ending up in prison.
“To reduce the number of people ending up in prison, we are dealing with gang groups in towns like Nimule and Torit. Some young people have already been trained in carpentry, tailoring, and construction, and we are supporting them with startup tools and machines,” Augustin explained.
The five-month project is funded by the United Nations Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS) under its Quick Impact Projects initiative and implemented by CIDA.
This story is reported with a grant from Journalists for Human Rights under the ‘Tackling Mis/Disinformation Project,’ funded by the Peace and Stabilization Program of the Government of Canada.”