President Yoweri Museveni has received the Order of the Commander-in-Chief, a Uganda Prisons Service medal, for his leadership in promoting production, self-reliance and welfare within the institution.
State House announced the award in a post on X during Uganda’s 64th Independence anniversary celebrations on October 9.
It said the honour recognised Museveni’s contribution to national development through local production and import substitution. The latter involves producing goods in Uganda that the country would otherwise buy abroad.
The celebrations took place at State House Entebbe. Before the ceremony, State House had named Museveni among 20 people scheduled to receive national honours.
The award draws attention to the Prisons Service’s economic activities beyond holding and rehabilitating offenders.
The institution runs commercial farms, multiplies seed, grows cotton and manufactures furniture. It also offers vocational training to help inmates acquire practical skills. These programmes support food production and the supply of materials to local industries, according to the service.
Prison farms began producing cotton under a presidential directive issued in October 2016. The programme seeks to supply raw materials to Uganda’s textile industry.
The service also produces maize seed for farmers and government programmes. It says grain silos at Lugore and Ruimi prison farms have increased storage capacity and helped reduce losses after harvest.
State House’s announcement linked the medal to both these production efforts and improved welfare within the Prisons Service. However, the post did not specify which welfare improvements formed the basis of the award.
Uganda’s Independence anniversary marks the end of British colonial rule on October 9, 1962.
