Advocacy group bemoans increased number of babies in Malawi prisons

A child advocacy group has bemoaned the number of babies in prisons who accompany their mothers who are either on full remand or are serving a sentence.

Child rights advocacy and paralegal centre executive director Alfred Sesa said his organisation wants to get such mothers out of prison.

“We are appealing in some of these cases. If they are just on remand, we make sure that they are out on bail. The children cannot be in prisons for crimes they never committed,” he said.

He singled out a woman in Dedza whom he said is serving a sentence yet she is pregnant and has another child in prison with her.

“We will appeal against her sentence. We want the children to live in conducive environment. We want to protect the children,” said Sesa, adding, “the children cannot and should not be in prison just because of offences committed by their mother.”

It is not yet known the exact number of prison babies as they are popularly known but there so many of them according to prison officials.