The Commander in Chief of the armed forces, President Yoweri Museveni, has appointed Samuel Akena as the new Deputy Commissioner of Prisons.
He replaces James Mwanje, who has retired from the Uganda Prison Services.
Akena’s appointment is set to be certified by the Parliamentary Committee on Appointments next week. He has been serving as the chairperson of the finance committee of Uganda Prisons.
The 58-year-old joined the Uganda Prisons Service in 1987 as a Cadet Assistant Superintendent of Prisons.
He holds a bachelor’s degree in Science in Zoology, Botany, and Geography from Makerere University.
He obtained a postgraduate diploma in Public Administration from the Uganda Management Institute in 1996 and has previously worked at Murchison Bay Prison, Kampala.
He served as deputy officer-in-charge of the Tororo prisons farm and officer-in-charge of Amita prisons farm in Gulu. He was later posted to Isimba prison as officer-in-charge of the farm there.
He was later transferred to the prisons headquarters as the officer-in-charge of training and operations. In 2011, Akena was promoted to the rank of commissioner in charge of support services. In 2016, he was promoted and appointed director of correctional services, a position he holds to date.