Africa-Press – Uganda. The use of community service orders has significantly reduced inmate numbers in Mityana District, with judicial officials saying the approach is particularly critical during the current politically sensitive period when arrests for minor offences tend to increase.
The initiative is implemented through a partnership between the Judiciary and the Community Service Order Programme, allowing offenders convicted of minor crimes to serve non-custodial sentences through community-based punishment.
Under the arrangement, eligible offenders are spared imprisonment and instead assigned public works such as road maintenance and sanitation activities, as well as vocational skills training including tailoring and crafts.
In Mityana, the Magistrates’ Court, working closely with the Community Service Order Programme, has introduced a rehabilitation initiative in which offenders, many of them women, are trained to make reusable sanitary pads.
The pads are later distributed to vulnerable women and girls in the community, turning punishment into an activity with direct social benefit.
Judicial officials say the programme not only promotes rehabilitation but also equips offenders with practical skills that can help them earn a living after completing their sentences.
While inspecting inmates in Mityana, the Resident Judge of the High Court Circuit of Mubende, Justice Tadeo Asiimwe, praised the initiative, describing it as a practical solution to prison congestion.
“Community service is proving to be an effective alternative to imprisonment for minor offences,” Justice Asiimwe said.
“This approach will go a long way in reducing congestion in our prisons while also reforming offenders and giving back to society.”
Officials further noted that community service orders are particularly important during politically charged periods, when arrests related to minor offences tend to rise, increasing pressure on detention facilities.
The programme continues to gain support from judicial officers and community leaders, who argue that it promotes restorative justice, reduces pressure on correctional facilities, and supports social development at the grassroots.
Authorities in Mityana say they hope the initiative will serve as a model for other jurisdictions seeking humane and sustainable alternatives to incarceration.
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