UGANDA PRISONS SET TO CONSTRUCT 7 FACILITIES IN WEST NILE

ACP Leni Ndori the Regional Prisons Commander for the Northwestern Region giving a media Interview in Arua Regional Office.

By Dramadri Federick and Freda Janeth
Arua City

The Uganda Prisons Service is planning to construct seven new prison facilities in the West Nile region to help decongest overcrowded inmate populations. This development comes in response to the rising number of inmates in most facilities, which has surpassed the prisons' current capacity across the region.
 
Data from the West Nile Regional Prisons Commander, as of September 9, 2025, indicates that a total of 4,107 inmates are held across 13 prison facilities scattered throughout the region.
 
Arua Main Prison leads with 1,106 inmates, followed by Openzinzi Prison with 814 inmates. Lobule Prison has the lowest population, holding just 39 inmates.
 
According to Leni Ndori, the Regional Prisons Commander for the Northwestern Region, plans are underway to establish larger facilities. The biggest will be in Arua Main Prison, which will feature three wings, with additional facilities being constructed in Yumbe, Arua Women’s Prison, Giligili, Obongi, Maracha, and Ragem, all in a phased manner.
 
“This month and within this financial year, aside from Arua Main Prison, we will establish a ward at Giligili as well as a ward at Uganda Main Prison in Paidha, Zombo District, which is already under construction. Yumbe has completed the wards for males and females. We are also opening a new prison in Maracha, near the court in Ovujo, to enable detainees to access justice closer to their districts,” Ndori explained.
 
Samuel Hassaka Mpimbaza, the Resident District Commissioner of Obongi, welcomed the development, describing it as long overdue. He noted that the current system poses challenges for communities in accessing justice, as they have to travel long distances to Moyo district.
 
“Currently, prisons and detention facilities are located in Moyo, and due to the distance, there are delays in delivering justice or worse, miscarriages of justice. In terms of infrastructure, people find it difficult to travel from Obongi to Moyo to testify, and transporting suspects to Moyo prisons is a lengthy and costly process for the police,” Mpimbaza emphasized.
 
Most of the existing prison facilities in West Nile were established between 1930 and 1990. These facilities were designed to host fewer than 500 inmates, underscoring the urgent need for expansion and modernization to meet current demands.