RWAMAGANA – The Director of Prisons, Steven Barinda, has praised the evangelisation campaign in government prisons which he says has facilitated the rehabilitation process of inmates.

He made the remarks while meeting different religious leaders who had visited Nsinda Prison to preach to inmates about reconciliation as it relates to restorative justice last Tuesday.

He noted that Rwandan prisons have recently undergone tremendous changes, including training prison wardens to handle inmates in a more professional manner.

"The colonial prison system we inherited was strictly of a punitive nature. Inmates were regarded as societal outcasts. However, today the story is totally different, prisons are no longer punitive but taken as national correctional institutions,” he said. 

He added that the government’s goal is to transform prisoners’ behaviour and reduce prison populations.
The Director of Nsinda Prison, Pelly Uwera Gakwaya, said through evangelisation that is based on reconciliation, prisoners have reformed and are remorseful about their past crimes.

"I wish what is happening here spreads throughout the country. I can assure you that if the trend remains, unity and reconciliation will be fully realised,” she said.

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