4251 New ISS Monograph 159.indd

This report examines the legal framework, capacity, and operational challenges of the Zambia Prison Service. It highlights severe overcrowding, chronic underfunding, and human rights concerns, while detailing the service's efforts toward offender management and agricultural self-sufficiency.

• The Zambia Prison Service suffers from extreme overcrowding, with a total capacity of 4,000 inmates compared to a population of 14,894 in July 2007. Over two-thirds of this population are remandees, many of whom are held in inhumane conditions alongside convicted criminals.
• Chronic underfunding and inadequate budgets have led to a critical shortage of manpower, with a staff-to-prisoner ratio of 1:4. Financial constraints also result in a lack of basic necessities, including bedding, uniforms, and adequate food, with inmates often receiving only one meal per day.
• Overcrowding is driven by inadequate infrastructure, judicial delays in disposing of cases, and corruption. Specific issues include remandees being held on expired warrants and a lack of sign language interpreters for disabled defendants, which prolongs detention.
• Health conditions in prisons are precarious, with HIV/AIDS and tuberculosis posing significant dangers. A 1999 survey found that 27% of inmates were HIV positive. While a workplace policy and some antiretroviral therapy exist, many prison clinics lack necessary drugs.
• The Zambia Prison Service implements an Offender Management Programme based on five pillars: inmate care, behaviour modification, development (vocational skills), special needs, and reintegration. This programme has contributed to reduced recidivism, with rates at 35% at Mukobeko and 16% at the Copperbelt prison.
• There are significant failures in the treatment of vulnerable groups. Women and infants often share facilities designed for men, and juvenile prisoners are frequently found sharing cells with adult convicts, leading to reports of ill-treatment and indecent assault.
• Reports of cruel and inhuman treatment persist, including torture by prison officers and the public shaming of prisoners. In North-Western Province, prisoners were reportedly forced to dance in Makishi costumes for public entertainment, a practice the government later ordered to stop.
• The government has recently taken steps to improve transport and equipment, including the purchase of cargo trucks, ambulances, and a 20-seater boat for Kalabo Prison. Additionally, the service aims to become self-sustaining in agriculture to improve inmate nutrition and reduce state spending.

APA

Institute for Security Studies (n.d.). 4251 New ISS Monograph 159.indd. https://issafrica.s3.amazonaws.com/site/uploads/M159CHAP7.PDF

Chicago

Institute for Security Studies. 4251 New ISS Monograph 159.indd. n.d. https://issafrica.s3.amazonaws.com/site/uploads/M159CHAP7.PDF.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=Institute for Security Studies |title=4251 New ISS Monograph 159.indd |url=https://issafrica.s3.amazonaws.com/site/uploads/M159CHAP7.PDF |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{instituteforsecuritystudiesnd4251, author = {{Institute for Security Studies}}, title = {{4251 New ISS Monograph 159.indd}}, institution = {Institute for Security Studies}, url = {https://issafrica.s3.amazonaws.com/site/uploads/M159CHAP7.PDF}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }