Heads of national prison services from Rwanda and Uganda are today meeting in Kampala, as part of efforts aimed at enhancing cooperation between the two agencies.

The Commissioner General of Prisons Mary Gahonzire arrived in Kampala yesterday for the three-day meeting, which she described as a follow up of the Joint Permanent Commission (JPC) meeting between Rwanda and Uganda held in Kampala early this year.

"We are here to analyze and look at modalities of cooperation between the prison services of the two countries,” said Gahonzire, who is accompanied by the Director of planning Emmanuel Rukundo and the Director of Operations Emmanuel Misingo.

The 8th Joint Permanent Commission meeting agreed to enhance cooperation in security and to harmonise work permits in line with the objectives of the East African Community integration process.

"We are implementing what the Ministers of Foreign affairs directed during the 8th Joint Permanent Commission meeting,” she added.

According to the programme of the visit, a copy of which The New Times obtained, the officials will be taken around by their Ugandan counterparts on a guided tour of the different prisons in the country.

Gahonzire said the meeting would seek to share best practices, and also work together to conduct joint training sessions, have exchange of prisoners as well as exchange of information.

During the 8th Joint Permanent Commission, Foreign Affairs Minister Louise Mushikiwabo said that; "We shall hold the JPC on a very regular basis but also with regular monitoring as the only way to make sure we keep moving forward to enforce a mechanism that is official.” 

The meeting is also in the spirit of implementing the decisions taken by the East African Chiefs of Prisons meeting held in Arusha, Tanzania last year.

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