Prison officers in Kawolo sub-county, Uganda, recommended that...

Prison officers in Kawolo sub-county, Uganda, recommended that the government hire a private firm to hang convicts on death row instead of using the prison staff to carry out executions. The officers said they were unhappy about the act of using prison staff as hangmen because it contravened their office oath. "We, as prison officers, took the oath to ensure safe custody of inmates and to rehabilitate them so that when they come out of prison they become useful citizens. How can we again be the ones to hang the people we swore to keep safe and to rehabilitate?" Officer in Charge of Kawolo Prison, Mr John Ssenjobe, said. "When these inmates stay in prison for a long time, they become like our relatives. So telling us to hang them seems as if we are killing our relatives. The government should hire a private company to do the work," he added.