http://www.pficjr.org Listing of all the justice reform news from Africa. daily 1 2007-06-21T10:26:18Z http://www.pficjr.org/newsitems/focus-on-reform-and-prisoner-rehabilitation-in-mozambique In October, the National Prison Service of Mozambique held a two-day, multi-stakeholder workshop exploring the issues of prison reform, prisoner rehabilitation and reintegration. The goals were to raise awareness and advocate for a new approach that would include both government and civil society organizations working in partnership. In the spirit of such partnership, PF Mozambique took on an organizing role with the workshop and drew upon contacts and resources of other PF national ministries. No publisher lparker Region:Africa Prison Issues Country:Mozambique 2008-12-19T16:00:24Z News Item http://www.pficjr.org/newsitems/sycamore-tree-projectae-training-in-swaziland On 11 and 12 November, PF Swaziland hosted a STP training seminar for volunteers, church leaders and magistrates. The two-day seminar, conducted by a team from PF South Africa, provided an overview of restorative justice, an introduction to the issues related to implementation, and an explanation of the STP sessions. No publisher lparker News STP Country:Swaziland Region:Africa 2008-12-10T13:26:49Z News Item http://www.pficjr.org/newsitems/an-indefinite-wait-for-freedom “Innocent until proven guilty” doesn’t mean much for the nearly 800 prisoners who are crowded into the dirty, dank prison cells of Liberia’s Monrovia Central Prison. Most have yet to be convicted of a crime – some charged with offences as minor as not paying a bill – but they have languished here for years without a trial. No publisher lparker Country:Liberia Region:Africa Crowding Legal Assistance 2008-09-26T12:23:42Z News Item http://www.pficjr.org/newsitems/sycamore-tree-projectae-and-pf-south-africa Recently, Douw Grobler, executive director of PF South Africa, reported on the “high level of partnership between PFSA and the Department of Correctional services (DCS)” as seen in the Sycamore Tree Project® (STP). In 2007, PF South Africa signed a service agreement with the DCS to provide STP to 80% of South African prisons within four years. They then provided workshops that trained 136 individuals to facilitate the programme in four different DCS management areas. No publisher lparker News Region:Africa STP Country:South Africa 2008-06-02T18:46:58Z News Item http://www.pficjr.org/newsitems/facilitating-prisoner-releases-in-liberia Recently, PF Liberia aided the release of 36 prisoners held for more than 180 days without trial in Monrovia Central Prison and Kakata Prison Centre. No publisher lparker Country:Liberia Region:Africa News Crowding Legal Assistance 2008-05-19T13:28:15Z News Item http://www.pficjr.org/newsitems/strengthening-connections-with-the-prison-service-in-zimbabwe Recently, PF Zimbabwe (PFZ) sponsored a one-day joint workshop for PFZ volunteers and board members and several representatives from the Prison Service including social workers, religious workers, rehabilitation officers and psychologists. No publisher lparker News Country:Zimbabwe Region:Africa 2008-04-01T17:13:55Z News Item http://www.pficjr.org/newsitems/advocating-for-restorative-justice-in-nigeria Participants in a recent one-day seminar organized by PF Nigeria discussed the chronic prison overcrowding in that country and explored solutions through alternatives to incarceration based on restorative justice. No publisher lparker Restorative justice Region:Africa Country:Nigeria Seminar Reform 2007-11-30T16:20:28Z News Item http://www.pficjr.org/newsitems/restorative-justice-training-for-corrections-personnel Recently, PF Lesotho sponsored a two-week training event on restorative justice for members of the Lesotho Correctional Service (LCS). Thirty-five participants including prison chaplains and correctional rehabilitation officers participated in the event held at the Lesotho Training Centre. No publisher lparker Restorative justice Country:Lesotho Region:Africa 2007-11-30T16:15:42Z News Item http://www.pficjr.org/newsitems/crime-care-conference In cooperation with Lotsha, a Christian networking organisation, PF South Africa recently hosted a one-day conference for churches with the theme, “Our Offenders, Our Victims, Our Responsibility.” No publisher lparker Region:Africa Seminar Country:South Africa 2007-11-07T21:35:15Z News Item http://www.pficjr.org/newsitems/caring-for-ex-prisoners-in-namibia Prisoners leaving prison face many challenges such as disconnection from life in their communities; estrangement from family members; lack of job skills; and scars from their imprisonment. To help ex-prisoners successfully overcome these challenges, PF Namibia created a halfway house programme to serve as a residential rehabilitation programme for ex-prisoners. No publisher lparker Aftercare Halfway House Country:Namibia Region:Africa 2007-05-30T17:55:37Z News Item http://www.pficjr.org/newsitems/reconciling-victims-and-offenders-in-swaziland As offenders come to understand the harm they have caused, they feel the need to express their remorse and take responsibility for their behaviour. In response to this need, the PF Swaziland reconciliation team assists prisoners in this journey toward healing. When prisoners ask PFS volunteers to relay their apology to the victim, the reconciliation team steps in to visit with the prisoner and the victim. During meetings with the victims, often attended by the prison chaplain, the team members explain the desire of the offender to apologize and meet with the victim. After several meetings with each party, a meeting inside the prison is facilitated by the members of the reconciliation team. Often these meetings end in an offer of forgiveness from those affected by the offending behaviour. No publisher lparker Restorative justice Region:Africa Country:Swaziland 2007-05-25T13:02:01Z News Item http://www.pficjr.org/newsitems/liberating-the-captives It started with a family feud and then Zanele Dlamini found herself in prison. When her half-sister accused her of stealing, Zanele fervently protested her innocence. But she couldn’t afford legal representation and under duress she confessted to the theft. Now she and her baby were facing ten months in prison because she couldn’t pay the fine of just $30USD. No publisher lparker Region:Africa Crowding Country:Swaziland 2007-03-13T16:15:39Z News Item http://www.pficjr.org/newsitems/workshops Justice reform is a priority for Prison Fellowship Ethiopia. One justice reform strategy is the organization of training workshops for all actors in the criminal justice system including police officers, judges, and prison directors. With the goal of building capacity in the justice system, these workshops cover different topics. No publisher james Country:Ethiopia Region:Africa Seminar Reform 2007-02-09T20:12:25Z News Item http://www.pficjr.org/newsitems/dueprocess Prison Fellowship Liberia is participating in a Case Flow Committee created by the national government to review the cases of prisoners being held without trial. Each week, the committee – consisting of representatives from the United Nations Mission in Liberia, the Ministry of Justice and PF Liberia – reviews cases to identify prisoners who have not been formally charged in court. No publisher james Country:Liberia Crowding Region:Africa 2007-01-26T16:42:43Z News Item http://www.pficjr.org/newsitems/zambia In May, Samuel Kawilila and Richard Mbindawina of PF Zambia travelled to the USA to study restorative justice at the Eastern Mennonite University Summer Peacebuilding Institute in Harrisonburg, VA No publisher james Restorative justice Region:Africa Country:Zambia 2006-08-01T18:01:15Z News Item