VZCZCXRO7961
RR RUEHBZ RUEHDU RUEHJO RUEHMR RUEHRN
DE RUEHDR #0026/01 0141252
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 141252Z JAN 10
FM AMEMBASSY DAR ES SALAAM
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 9212
INFO RUCNSAD/SOUTHERN AF DEVELOPMENT COMMUNITY COLLECTIVE
RUEHJB/AMEMBASSY BUJUMBURA 3066
RUEHKM/AMEMBASSY KAMPALA 0039
RUEHLGB/AMEMBASSY KIGALI 1542
RUEHNR/AMEMBASSY NAIROBI 1508

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 DAR ES SALAAM 000026 
 
SENSITIVE 
 
SIPDIS 
 
DEPARTMENT FOR AF/E JTREADWELL, INR FEHRENREICH 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: ASEC CASC PGOV PHUM TZ
SUBJECT: OVERCROWDING CRITICAL CHALLENGE FOR TANZANIAN PRISONS 
 
¶1. (SBU) SUMMARY:  Severe overcrowding produces poor living 
conditions in Dar es Salaam's prisons.  Our observations indicate 
food supplies are sufficient, while sanitary and sleeping facilities 
are clearly inadequate.  Remand prisoners at the Segerea Prison, who 
may wait up to five years for a trial, have limited recreational 
opportunities, often spending whole days exposed to the hot sun in a 
cramped court yard.  While convicted prisoners at the Ukonga Prison 
may participate in an apprenticeship program, they too are subject 
to harsh conditions compounded by overcrowding.  The Chief Justice 
and Director of Public Prosecution are taking steps to speed up the 
judicial process; however, these initiatives will not significantly 
reduce overcrowding in the near term. END SUMMARY 
 
¶2. (SBU) On December 18, 2009, Embassy staff from the Consular and 
Political Sections as well as the Regional Security Office visited 
Segerea and Ukonga prisons in Dar es Salaam.  There are four prisons 
in Dar es Salaam, of which three, including Ukonga and Segerea, are 
maximum security.  Fewer than 5,000 prisoners are held in these 
facilities, but more than 50 percent are remand prisoners.  Segerea 
Prison is the primary facility for suspects awaiting trial.  These 
prisons employ more than 1,300 staff members. 
 
¶3. (SBU) The Deputy Chief of Prisons (DCP), Dr. Salum Chambuso, and 
the Regional Prisons Officer for Dar es Salaam, Cleophace Rweye, 
briefed the Embassy delegation at Segerea, and then guided the 
delegation on a tour of both facilities.  The officials presented a 
credible view of prison conditions (although the facilities were 
suspiciously clean).  They provided access to the entire facility 
and answered questions frankly.  They generally noted deficiencies. 
 
 
SEGEREA PRISON: INTOLERABLE OVERCROWDING 
---------------------------------------- 
¶4. (SBU) Segerea Prison holds 1,867 inmates, including 143 juveniles 
and 136 women held in separate wings of the facility, as well as 11 
illegal immigrants (primarily from Bangladesh).  (Note: The DCP 
insisted that all relevant protocols had been followed and the 
appropriate foreign country officials notified of the presence of 
these migrants.)  The facility is secured with a padlock, attached 
to a solid wood door.  The guards announced and manually recorded 
the number of prisoners in the prison each time the door was opened. 
 Several guards were standing at the prison door and others were in 
the lock up facility guarding the prisoners.  Prison officials 
insisted the ratio of guards to prisoners was one to five but even 
on the day of the delegationQs visit, when security may have been 
heightened, the ratio was visibly higher. 
 
¶5. (SBU) When the delegation entered the juvenile section, the 
inmates sat in an unprotected courtyard in an orderly, yet cramped 
fashion.  This space, where the juveniles spend most of their time, 
offered little shelter from the hot sun or space for recreational 
activities.  Most wore tattered civilian clothing, reflecting their 
status as remand prisoners.  Although primarily a remand facility, 
Segerea holds a number of convicted juvenile prisoners, identified 
by the standard issue orange uniforms.  Remand prisoners depend on 
family members to provide clothing.  Delegation members asked how 
long on average the juveniles waited for their trials.  The ACP 
queried a handful of remand prisoners about the duration of their 
stay.  The majority had been there less than a year, but one remand 
prisoner from Uganda had been waiting for his murder trial for five 
years. 
 
¶6. (SBU) Entering the men's wing, the delegation found more than 
1,200 prisoners crowded into a small courtyard (roughly the size of 
a tennis court), with little to entertain them except the visiting 
diplomats.  Although the prisoners could have overpowered the 
weaponless guards, they complied with orders to remain seated and 
were surprisingly subdued.  The prisoners did not seem interested in 
physically challenging the guards.  (Note: Guards at the prison 
carry batons, not firearms.) 
 
¶7. (SBU) In any 24 hour period, these inmates spend twelve hours in 
the small courtyard, fully exposed to the sun and rain.  Their 
remaining time is spent locked up in cells.  Each cell is built to 
hold 51 prisoners but due to overcrowding more than 175 prisoners 
share the space.  Thin blue mattresses covered the floor in neat 
rows with little room between them.  Three prisoners share every two 
mattresses.  There were no mosquito nets to guard against malaria. 
 
 
¶8. (SBU) Each cell had two squat toilets, flushed using buckets of 
water.  Given the number of men sharing these two toilets, they were 
certainly inadequate and likely unsanitary when not cleaned for the 
benefit of visitors.  (Note: In May, CHRAGG investigated a report 
that inmates at another prison were denied access to toilets.  The 
 
DAR ES SAL 00000026  002 OF 003 
 
 
results of this investigation have yet to be released.  NGOs have 
also reported that sanitary conditions in Tanzanian prisons are poor 
and contribute to the spread of disease. End Note.) Each cell had 
one shower facility, which did not appear to have a working 
showerhead, located in close proximity to the toilets.  As with the 
juveniles, many of the adult remand prisoners appeared to be wearing 
the same clothes in which they had arrived at the prison, now 
tattered and soiled. 
 
¶9. (SBU) The women's wing of the prison was in much better 
condition.  The women's cells were equipped with beds, the majority 
of which had mosquito nets.  There was a sheltered outdoor area as 
well as an open courtyard with sink-like facility.  The women's wing 
is a mixed facility, holding 40 convicted prisoners and 94 remand 
prisoners.  Ten children live with their mothers in the prison and 
are allowed to do so until age ten.  With children being passed from 
one woman to another, there seemed to be some sense of community 
among the inmates. 
 
¶10. (SBU) Both the women's and the men's wings of the prison had a 
small clinic for primary care purposes.  The men's clinic had twenty 
beds and the women's ten.  Eight male patients were receiving 
treatment in their clinic for malaria and non-life threatening 
injuries received during arrest.  The women's clinic was empty and 
cleaner than the men's.  The prison has one doctor, one clinical 
specialist, and three or four nurses on staff.  Officials purchase 
drugs through the government tender system and, according to the 
DCP; they are available in sufficient quantities to treat the 
prisoners.  The most common illnesses are TB, malaria, and 
pneumonia.  Patients in serious condition are referred to local 
hospitals. 
 
¶11. (SBU) The "kitchen" at Segerea Prison, an open tin-roofed 
facility, contained several large vats of thick porridge and beans, 
which was the day's meal.  Inmates are fed one main meal per day 
which officials assured EmbOffs contained the necessary daily 
caloric intake.  HIV positive inmates receive three meals a day. 
While the porridge was bland, delegation members agreed after a 
taste that it was edible.  The officials said that inmates receive 
rice, vegetables, and meat once a week as well as sardines and 
fruits twice a week.  This allocation of food is standard across all 
prisons in Tanzania. (Note: While the food seemed to be plentiful on 
the day of the delegationQs visit, NGOs and the media have reported 
receiving complaints about inadequate supplies of food. End Note) 
 
¶12. (SBU) The DCP stated the prison had running water, but the 
delegation saw large vats of water scattered about the compound that 
suggested this was not always the case.  Officials said that the 
water comes from bore holes and wells, but they trucked in water 
when this supply was inadequate.  (Note: NGOs as well as the 
Commission for Human Rights and Good Governance (CHRAGG) have 
reported that water resources are insufficient at a number of 
prisons. End Note) 
 
UKONGA PRISON: OVERCROWDED CELLS, SHARP OBJECTS, LITTLE VIOLENCE 
-------------------------------------------- 
¶13. (SBU) The Ukonga maximum security prison faces similar 
challenges to the Segerea facility.  Built for roughly 900 inmates, 
Ukonga holds more than 2,000 inmates.  The cells are overcrowded and 
combined with poor sanitation, encourage the spread of disease. 
However, the expansive prison grounds provide adequate space for 
recreational activities such as soccer and bao, a local board game. 
There is an extensive vocational training program at the Ukonga 
prison.  More than 1,000 long-term prisoners are trained to work as 
carpenters, tailors, upholsterers, or weavers.  The goods made at 
the prison are sold locally.  In addition to the workshops, the 
Ukonga prison has started a biogas project.  Waste from the toilet 
facilities is diverted to a holding tank from which the gas is 
captured and used for cooking.  Human waste provides fertilizer for 
the prison's crops. 
 
¶14. (SBU) The officials pointed out that neither the kitchen 
facility nor the health center at the prison were finished.  Prison 
labor is used to build all facilities at the prison but funds are 
needed to cover other costs.  The officials lamented the fact that 
resources were not available to finish the HIV and TB screening 
center, originally supported by the Clinton Foundation.  HIV 
screening is voluntary, but the DCP said many prisoners choose to be 
tested.  Asked why HIV screening was not mandatory, the DCP said 
they were concerned that HIV negative inmates who tested positive 
upon completing their sentences would sue the government.  (Comment: 
Such an eventuality seems highly unlikely, but the comment is in 
keeping with the DCP's other odd remarks about HIV.  He suggested 
that inmates wanted to be HIV positive in order to receive three 
meals a day. End Comment) 
 
DAR ES SAL 00000026  003 OF 003 
 
 
 
¶15. (SBU) One of the prison doctors joined us on the tour at Ukonga. 
 He said the facility had three doctors and ten nurses.  He 
contradicted the DCP, stating that the quantity of drugs received 
was insufficient to meet demand.  Although inmates are allowed to 
receive medications from family members, he said they had to get 
special permission from prison officials. 
 
¶16. (SBU) While Ukonga prison was a larger facility, providing 
inmates with more space outside their cells, to an outsider the 
security situation seemed no less precarious than at Segerea. 
Inmates have access to all manner of sharp objects in the workshops. 
 In addition, there were large shards of glass on the ground.  As at 
Segerea, however, neither the guards nor the inmates seemed 
interested or alarmed about these potential weapons.  Asked about 
violence in the prisons, the officials said they had the occasional 
incident but did not have any problems with gangs. 
 
¶17. (SBU) COMMENT:  Tanzanians have a well-earned reputation for 
abhorring violence.  The country has never experienced widespread 
violence or unconstitutional changes of government.  We expected 
that the presumed criminals making up the prison population would be 
an exception to the general rule of Tanzanian peacefulness. 
Overcrowding in some American prisons contributes to significant 
rates of prison violence.  However, our observations and discussions 
with officials indicate that this is not a major issue in Tanzanian 
prisons. 
 
¶18. (U) The DCP noted on a number of occasions that the prison 
system "respects the human rights of the prisoners.Q He blamed both 
financial constraints and the sluggish court system, which takes 
anywhere from two to five years to hear a case.  He took advantage 
of the visit to suggest that the USG might be interested in 
financing several of their expansion projects to address 
overcrowding.  From a human rights perspective, overcrowding in the 
prisons the delegation visited were worrisome and would likely be 
hazardous for any incarcerated American citizen.  (Note: At the time 
of the visit, there were no known U.S. citizens incarcerated in 
Tanzania.)  The government has taken steps to ease overcrowding.  In 
2009, President Kikwete pardoned more than 7,000 prisoners. 
Additionally, the Chief Justice and the Director of Public 
Prosecution endeavored to speed up the judicial process by 
realigning human resources, resolving cases through plea bargains, 
and implementing an electronic case management system.  These 
efforts will not reduce overcrowding significantly in the short 
term. 
 
LENHARDT