The Malawi Prison Services (MPS) has called for the establishment of more halfway houses across the country, warning that the current single facility is not enough to properly prepare inmates for life after prison.
Officials say the shortage of such facilities is undermining efforts to ensure that prisoners leaving custody are well equipped to reintegrate into society and live productive, law-abiding lives.
MPS public relations officer Steve Meke has told Nthanda Times in an interview that halfway houses play a critical role in the rehabilitation, reformation and reintegration of prisoners into society.
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He said the absence of more such facilities is a major gap in the country’s criminal justice and rehabilitation system, especially at a time when successful reintegration is key to reducing reoffending.
“Halfway houses are a very important component in the reformation, rehabilitation and reintegration of offenders into the community. These are transitional homes for inmates entering society,” said Meke.
According to Meke, inmates are transferred to halfway houses six months before their release, where they undergo intensive preparation for life outside prison.
“Each intake at the facility accommodates between 50 and 80 inmates per session, which runs for a period of six to nine months, and while at the halfway house they are no longer referred to as inmates but as residents, reflecting the facility’s focus on rehabilitation and reintegration rather than punishment,” said Meke.
While at the halfway houses, inmates are placed under structured programmes designed to gradually transition them from prison life to normal community living, combining discipline, counselling, skills training and supervised interaction with the outside world.
Meke said although prisoners receive vocational training while still in custody, the halfway house phase is more focused and practical because it is directly linked to their return to society.
“Whilst in prison they are taught technical skills, but this time around the skills are enhanced because they are now focusing on the actual release of these inmates back into society,” he said.
Currently, Malawi has only one halfway house, located in Balaka, which is jointly run by the Malawi Prison Service and Prison Fellowship Malawi.
The push for more halfway houses comes at a time when Malawi has just begun implementing the Prisons Act of 2025, a law that introduces major reforms such as the establishment of halfway houses, open prisons and a parole system in an effort to decongest prisons and shift the system towards rehabilitation rather than punishment.