Of over 37,000 held in country’s prisons, nearly 27,000 are suspects

Dumbara Prison built to accommodate 699 persons is now being expanded to hold 2,900 persons. At the moment, Dumbara Prison holds 2,246 men and women – a staggering 1,547 individuals more than its maximum capacity. Of the 2,246 persons held there, 107 are females.

This was revealed when Justice and National Integration Minister Harshana Nanayakkara responded to a query posed by Samagi Jana Balawegaya (SJB) lawmaker Chamindrani Kiriella, in Parliament yesterday (20).

The Kandy district SJB MP raised a spate of questions regarding the current status of prisons with the focus on how the NPP government intended to address the growing congestion within prisons.

The Minister explained that a major building project was now underway to expand Dumbara Prison, situated at Pallekelle, to accommodate 2,500 men and 400 women.

According to Attorney-at-Law Nanayakkara, the proposed Dumbara Prison complex would include 102 housing units for prison personnel.

The Parliament was told that the entire project would cost the taxpayer a staggering Rs 4.3 bn and that Engineering Consultants (Pvt.) Limited (ECL) was responsible for planning and supervision.

The project was progressing and by January 4, 2026, a substantial part of the complex had been built and 2146 inmates already accommodated.

The Minister said that the facility was to accommodate those who were previously held at Nuwara and Bogambara Prisons.

Of some 37,761 held at various prisons, about 27,000 were suspects, the Parliament was told.

MP Kiriella urged Minister Nanayakkara to consider an arrangement, similar to that of South Africa where those languishing in prisons, due to the inability to pay fines, received the required financial assistance from a special fund created for that purpose.

While appreciating the SJB’ers proposal, Minister Nanayakkara said that during 2025, 17,000 persons hadn’t been remanded as part of the government response to overcome overcrowding in prisons. They were being held under supervision, the Minister said.

Minister Nanayakkara said that the primary reason for the congestion was the significant number of those remanded on narcotics-related charges. Of the over 37,000 held in prisons about 30,000 were those who had been arrested on narcotics-related offences, the Minister said. According to the Minister, delay on the part of the Government Analyst’s Department in furnishing relevant reports had created a crisis and action was being taken to recruit 82 persons to that Department. The idea was to establish a system to secure GA reports within three months, the Minister said.

By Shamindra Ferdinando ✍️