Yangailo tells Luse Orphanage to improve or face closure

Posted Oct 28, 2009

Mbala’s Luse Community Orphanage Day Centre came under heavy criticism from HRC Commissioners for subjecting children to appalling conditions during the recent tour of prisons and police cells in Northern Province which took place from 4th August to 14th August.

HRC Chairperson Mrs. Pixie Yangailo castigated the management for not doing enough to improve the conditions children were living in.

She said HRC will closely monitor the Centre and recommend closure if conditions did not improve.

The Commission made a surprise visit to the Centre and found that a rundown dormitory was being used as class room.

The Commission was however impressed with Sunsuntila Day Care Centre in Mbala, Brothers’ Keeper Ministries Children’s Home, and Young Women Christians Association in Kasama which maintained minimum standards for childcare.

Pursuant to section (9) of the Human Rights Commission Act no. 39 of 1996, the Human Rights Commission has the powers to “visit prisons and places of detention or related facilities with a view to assessing and inspecting conditions of persons held in such places and make recommendations to redress existing problems.”

This is a mandate the Commission has carried out every year since 1997 going round to all the provinces.

During the tour of Northern Province, HRC visited 11 prisons and over 20 police posts. Last year, several prisons and police cells in North-Western and Lusaka Provinces were visited.

The Commission has found that overcrowding, poor sanitation, dilapidated cells, poor diet and inadequate health and recreational facilities are a common feature of many Zambian prisons.