United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime

The UNODC Regional Office in East Africa (ROEA)

Tender Closes for Mogadishu Prison and Court Complex

With a strong track record of working with criminal justice institutions in Somalia, and with improved security in Mogadishu with the formation of the Somali Federal Government, UNODC's Global Maritime Crime Programme extended its support to South Central Somalia in 2014.

Working within the structure of the Somali Joint Rule of Law Programme, under the Somali Compact Peace and State-building Goal 3, agreement was reached with the Federal Government for the construction of a high security prison and court complex, the Mogadishu Prison and Court Complex, that will allow justice to be carried out in Mogadishu in a safe environment and for prisoners, including high-risk detainees, to be held in human rights compliant and security-conscious conditions.

The Mogadishu Prison and Court Complex is an integrated court and prison facility designed specifically to handle high-security cases and detainees, with additional detention capacity for a general male prison population.

The two-courthouse court complex will provide a safe environment for hearing terrorism and other serious criminal cases. Within the compound, secure accommodation for judges and prosecutors to use during the conduct of their trials will be constructed, reducing the significant risk of terrorist attacks they face when at home or traveling in the city.

The tender for the first phase of works was advertised from October - November. The Government's Attorney General and the Commissioner General for Prisons were both present at the close of bids last week, admiring the model for the project with UNOPS and UNODC partners.

Construction is expected to commence in late 2015 and it is expected that the Prison and Court Complex will be able to host trails and detention by 2017 when Phase 1 is anticipated to be complete.