Malawi prisons closed as warders demand pay hike

Prison gates in Malawi remain closed as warders continue to protest for a hike on their monthly salary.

The warders have taken to the streets blocking roads and chanting protest songs to force the government to heed to their concerns.

Apart from the salary increment, the warders are also demanding that elevation in rank in Prison department should be on a par with its sister departments namely, the police and immigration, with which they all fall under the country’s Ministry of Home Affairs and Internal Security.

The country’s Home Affairs Minister, Grace Chiumia, has since condemned the protests, saying the government was already looking into the warders’ grievances.

She accused the warders of taking to the streets out of impatience.

Chiumia had told the country’s local media that “these are security officers, and security officers are not supposed to go on strike because security is compromised when they do.’’

“What they are protesting about is an issue of functional review which we are currently working on; we started with the Immigration officers and Police officers whom we have promoted a rank up and the prison officers are next,’’ she said.

She had on Sunday visited Zomba Maximum Prison, a penitentiary in the country’s Southern region, to reason with the protesting warders and to urge them to go back to work.

However, the warders in the capital, Lilongwe blocked the road to Maula Prison, the largest reformatory facility in the central region as they continued to sing protest songs.

“We are not going back to work until our promotions have been effected and our salaries have been raised,’’ stated one of the demonstrating warders who spoke on condition of anonymity.