Anadkat hands over K350m prison block: First Capital Bank boss calls for criminal justice reforms

January 22, 2020 Osman Faiti - Nyasa Times 19 Comments

First Capital Bank Group chairperson Hitesh Anadkat on Tuesday handed over a 384-bed prison block to Chichiri Prison in Blantyre worth K350 million with a call to encourage community sentence programmes and drastically reduce the use of custody on minor offences.

A section of the new prison block constructed by Anadkat

Anadkat constructed the modern prison block after learning through the media the poor, degrading and inhuman conditions in the country’s jails which is also complicated by overcrowding.

“I was shocked when I saw pictures of prisoners sleeping like sardines so close to one another,” said Anadkat.

The well known philanthropist said he started to engage prison authorities and the Ministry of Homeland Security but faced apathy from authorities.

“One minister sent senior prison officials who said I should just give them the money and they would get it done. I would not do it that way,” said Anadkat.

He said the Judiciary should also review their sentencing guidance to ensure that other jail terms are non-custodial which gives offenders a second chance and turns them into productive members of society.

“There are some dangerous criminals in there and they need to be there for a long time yes, but most of the prisoners committed small offences. I heard of a grandmother who stole shoes because her daughter needed them to go to school and she was thrown into jail. Such people deserve some level of humanity,” he said.

Anadkat observed that most inmates are petty criminals and a good number are on remand for year on end.

He pointed out that it is only by investing in the community that the country will succeed in reducing crime.

Minister of Homeland Security Nicholous Dausi hailed Aandkat for the gesture.

Dausi in an interview with Nyasa Times said a “great transformation” of prisons would be one of the goals of government.

Meanwhile, commentators have cautioned that the new block should not be for the elite who find themselves on the wrong side of the law but give high priority to old and fail inmates and others that are studing in jail.

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19 replies on “Anadkat hands over K350m prison block: First Capital Bank boss calls for criminal justice reforms”

  2. You should have built a hospital ! People are packed like sardines hospitals!

  4. Thank you Mr Anadkat, you have shown us that the Indian Diaspora are the true friends of Malawi who have always extended a helping hand to us Malawians unlike other communities of Chinese who have only stolen from us. This is a great initiative sir and we as Malawi thank you for this generous gift.

  7. HAHAHAHA ati “just give us the money, we will get it done” meaning we will eat the money and build a toilet with the change. na what kind of gvt is this??? for once they can not think of other citizens first but themselves…Oh! God please punish them and their generations to come. 20 good years after Multiparty Malawi is going backwards instead of moving forward, all the good things we used to see in our childhood are gone what remains are skeletons of what Kamuzu built, he had a vision that may some leader will do better and improve from what he would leave….but see what they are doing now, dividing Malawi and stealing every penny that comes their way. But God is still on the throne, one day all the bad ones will disappear and the upright will rule this nation with the fear of God in their hearts.

  8. Wonderful gesture that has to be applauded.

    It would also really help other philanthropists chipping in – not really to build more prisons, but also help build skills learning centers in these prisons so that when these prisoners come out have a skills set they can use. Be it carpentry, brick laying, motor vehicle repair etc. Mainly hand-working skills that they can utilize and eventually get paid for even in a rural area.

    Without that, chances are that they will end up committing the crimes again and the cycle will just continue.

    And indeed maybe the justice system must perhaps also be re-visited? Especially when it comes to sentences as mentioned above. I also, personally, think Imprisonment With Hard Labour is not really a positive way to handle it. Instead of ‘punishment’, we must perhaps aim at ‘reforming’ these people so they can become responsible members of society.

    The sorry, despicable prison living conditions are ‘punishment’ enough already that a ‘reformed’ person would not want to go back to when (or if) they get out.

    With IHL I think most of these people become bitter and alienated as they tend to feel like outcasts.

    I am not trying to diminish the gravity of crime. Crime is crime, no matter the size, but not very sure if stealing a chicken (for example) or a pair of shoes (as pointed out in the article) warrants someone languishing in prison for ages. In the end, such “small” crimes also contribute to unnecessary overcrowding on top of issues of cases taking too long to go to trial.

    Why not, for example, fine the chicken thief and if they cannot pay (most likely in many cases) let them pay by doing community service – e.g. go clean at the hospital, community clinic, school or something. Only if someone becomes a ‘serial village chicken thief’ then maybe harsher measures can be taken against them.

    Just a thought.

  10. Kikiki koma some commentators mpaka they have cautioned that the building should not be used for elite prisoners? Do they even know the criteria for allocation of prison spaces?

  11. One human being fixed one problem perfectly and effectively. What’s wrong with our government officials

  12. and i qoute,’one minister sent senior prison officers who said i should just give them the money and they would get it done’..eee koma apumbwa inu ndalama munazimvadi kukoma…munthu akufuna kuthandiza inu mpamene mukuonapo ma VX pamenepo..shame on you

    1. For sure let the anti corruption bureau make arrest and investigate the matter at hand. In this way we can easily fight corruption

  13. Dziko linoli sikuti ndilovuta kulikonza koma linaima chifukwa cha anthu ngati analankhula mau awawa ” tipaseni ndalamazo timange tokha..”

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