As families across Uganda gather around tables laden with matooke, rice, and meat this Christmas, thousands of men and women will mark the festive season behind high prison walls, separated from loved ones and uncertain about when their cases will be heard.
For prisoners on remand, Christmas is less a celebration and more a moment of quiet endurance, reflection, and hope.
According to the Uganda Prisons Service (UPS), more than half of the country’s prison population consists of remand prisoners, people who have not been convicted of any crime but remain incarcerated due to slow investigations, delayed trials, congested courts, or inability to meet bail conditions.
For them, Christmas comes not as a holiday, but as another day counted in confinement. Inside major prisons such as Luzira, Mbarara, Gulu, and Kitalya, the festive mood is restrained.
While prison authorities make arrangements to recognise the day, the experience is far removed from the warmth and freedom associated with Christmas outside. On Christmas morning, prisoners on remand wake up early, just as they do every other day, to whistles and the clang of iron gates.
Roll call is conducted, cells are cleaned, and inmates line up for breakfast. The routine largely remains unchanged. Uganda Prisons Service spokesperson Frank Baine Mayanja says the daily schedule does not shift, even on Christmas, though the day is treated special.
‘The waking-up routine does not change. They wake up, they conduct prayers, and after the prayers, that is when they do the other part of the entertainment,’ Mr Baine said.
He explained that despite security considerations, prisons make deliberate efforts to ensure inmates feel the significance of the season.
‘For purposes of your information, Christmas is always a special time for everybody. Apart from the tight security, we have arrangements; we normally have meat, chicken, and rice. Then we have Christmas carols, general entertainment, some drama and football, which is done by the prisoners themselves,’ Mr Baine said.
At Luzira Prison, a remand prisoner who asked not to be named said the slightly improved meal is often the clearest reminder that it is Christmas.
‘We are given meat, rice, and matooke, separating this from the other days of posho and beans,’ he said. ‘It helps us remember that it is Christmas, but the heart is not at peace. ‘ Mr Baine noted that preparations begin days earlier.
On December 23 and 24, he personally oversees the distribution of cows to various prison stations to allow inmates to enjoy Christmas Eve meals.
‘We have prison farms. About three-quarters of the animals come from our own farms, and then we use the balance of our savings to service providers,’ he said.
Even so, for many remand prisoners, Christmas remains emotionally taxing. Visits from family members, often a source of comfort, are limited or absent.
Distance, lack of transport money, and stigma discourage many families from travelling to prisons.
‘You think about your children, your parents, your wife. You wonder if they are eating well, if they remember you. Some of us have been here for years without trial. Christmas reminds you of how much time you have lost,’ said a remand inmate at Luzira Prison.
This year, visits will be even more restricted.
In a December 15 press release, Mr Baine announced that the Commissioner General of Prisons had declared a Standby Class One period for all UPS staff from December 15 to February 15, 2026, in preparation for the festive season and the upcoming General Election.
Under the directive, prison authorities are required to strengthen safety, security, and intelligence coordination with sister agencies, remain vigilant at all times, and suspend hired prisoners’ labour (kibarua).
Staff leave is restricted to exceptional cases. Critically for inmates and their families, prisoners’ visitations will be suspended from December 24 to 27, January 1 to 4, and January 14 to 16.
Access to prisons and barracks by unauthorised persons has also been restricted, with officers in charge warned they will be personally held accountable for non-compliance.
Religious services remain central to how remand prisoners cope with the season. Christian inmates attend Christmas prayers or Mass, while Muslim prisoners observe the period through prayer and reflection.
For many, faith provides the only comfort.
‘I pray that God touches the hearts of judicial officers so that my case is heard,’ said a remand prisoner charged with aggravated robbery.
‘Christmas gives me hope that maybe next year I will not be here.’
Overcrowding continues to compound the hardship. Cells designed for a few hundred inmates often house more than double their capacity, intensifying discomfort during an already emotionally difficult period.
For women on remand, the season brings additional emotional strain. Mothers worry about children left behind, often with relatives or neighbours.
At Luzira Women’s Prison, inmates say the pain of separation is sharpest during festive seasons. ‘You imagine your child asking why mummy did not come home for Christmas,’ said a woman on remand for a capital offence.
‘That pain does not go away.’
As evening falls on Christmas Day, prisoners retreat to their wards carrying a mix of sadness, resilience, and hope. There are no family gatherings, no exchanged gifts, only prayers, memories, and the quiet waiting that defines life on remand.
For Uganda’s remand prisoners, Christmas is not marked by celebration, but by waiting: waiting for court dates, for bail, for judgment, and for the day they can once again celebrate the season with loved ones beyond the prison walls.