Chief Executive Officer of the Saint John of God Hospitaller Services, Dr. Charles Masulani Mwale has told Zodiak in an interview that for example, there is need for the country to train and allocate psychiatrists who shall be preparing prisoners when released from jail.

“The major challenge in our prisons is that, we are still using colonial ways of reformation, in Europe and other countries, apart from prisoners spending time with prison warders and wardens, there are counselors, psychologists and other multi-dimensional workers," noted Dr Mwale.

Minister of Homeland Security Richard Chimwendo Banda said the Government already has plans to establish half way prisons in all the regions of the country as there is only one in Balaka.

Said Chimwendo Banda, “we have established one in Balaka. This is a total reformatory center where full counseling and other important aspects such as capacity building are done. And we want to reciprocate this initiative in all the regions of the country."

Recently, a man who had just been released from prison after serving an 8 year jail term has been re-arrested in Dedza on allegations that he had defiled his 11 year old granddaughter. Mental health experts are saying the suspect lacked physiological support when he was freed from the reformatory center.