Prisons Fellowship condemns condom proposal

Executive director Teddy Mweetwa in an interview yesterday said Zambia was a Christian nation and that the proposal to distribute condoms among inmates was not acceptable.

“I may not have the background on the proposal to distribute condoms to inmates in prison but as Zambia Prisons Fellowship, we are not in support of this proposal, we are a Christian organisation. The move will promote homosexuality which is against our values,” he said.

Mr Mweetwa said homosexuality was also a criminal offence that was contrary to the Laws of Zambia.

He said the distribution of condoms in prisons would encourage homosexuality not only among inmates but also outsiders who might see the act to be morally right.

Mr Mweetwa said condoms were not the only way to reduce HIV/AIDS infections among inmates.

He said there was need to promote abstinence in prisons to lower the prevalence of HIV/AIDS.

Some stakeholders who include Church mother bodies and inmates also objected to the proposal of distributing condoms in prisons.

Inmates at Kamfinsa State Prison, during an HIV/AIDS and Tuberculosis conference for Copperbelt officers held at Kamfinsa State Prison on Saturday, objected to the proposal, saying doing so could promote sodomy.

Peer educators at the prison said distributing condoms in prisons was as good as promoting homosexuality among inmates.

They said they would rather embrace programmes on behavioural change than consent to the distribution of condoms amongst themselves.