The Prison Island
The Prison Island
The prison Island is one of the beautiful islands of Zanzibar situated just off the coast 5.6 kilometers northern of Stone Town , the island is also known as Changuu Island or Quarantine Island or Kibandiko.
The Prison Island is a small island of approximately 800 meters (2,600ft) long and 230 meters (750 ft) wide at its broadest point.
The Prison Island was once a quarantine station and it is now popular tourist attraction, the island functioned as a prision for rebellious slaves in 1860s and also functioned as a coral mine.
History of the Prison Island
The Prison island was initially known as Changuu Island, the island was uninhabited until the mid-1860s when Majid bin Salid, the first Sultan of Zanzibar sold it to Arab Slave Traders. At that time, Zanzibar was at the center of slave trading in East Africa – with Stone Town as the Capital hosting one of the World’s last open slave markets.
The traders used Changuu Island as a holding space for slaves in transit to and from Stone Town. When you visit the Stone Town – the capital of Zanzibar, you will see museums and monuments which serve as remembrance to the traumatic legacy including a sculpture of slaves sunken into one of the former cellars of the market.
By 1873, Sultan Seyyid Bargahash signed a treaty that made slavery illegal in Zanzibar, he signed the treaty under great pressure from the British who had abolished slavery in the UK in 1807. Following the abolishment of slave trade, ivory and cloves remained as the two main export of the island and it flourished commercially. With the abundance of cloves and ivory, the British picked interest in the Island and in 1890 it became a British protectorate. This meant that while the island ruled itself, Britain exercised control over its defense and foreign affairs.
In 1891, The British Consul C.S Smith visited Stone Town’s prison and was appalled at the squalid conditions and the hot, heavy foul air which made him gag. He suggested that a new prison should be built on Changuu Island, acting on the Consul’s recommendation. The British bought the island and nick named it “The Prison Island”, the progress in building the new penal colony was slow and in the interim, European visitors were using the bungalows built for prison staff as sanatorium, these visitors were attracted to the island by the sea breezes and pristine environment.
The Prison Island never lived up to its name, by the time it was built the British were worried about the plagues of cholera, yellow fever and bubonic plague that were ravaging the region. The British authorities, despite the Zanzibar government’s protests designated Prison Island as the main quarantine station in East Africa.
By the mid-20th century, the Island was no longer needed as a quarantine station, by then it had become a popular relaxation spot. Stone Town’s inhabitants relished its quiet beaches after the hubbub of the city. Today there is a resort on the Island, complete with ocean-facing swimming pool and sun loungers.
Prison Island as a Tortoise Sanctuary
Prison Island is a popular spot for swimming, snorkeling and sunbathing, the island is also a sanctuary for Tortoise which are the one of the fascinating attractions on the island.
The Prison Island hosts the Aldabra tortoises which are one of the largest tortoises in the world weighing up to 200 kilos, these kind of tortoises are also one of the longest – lived creatures in the world and the estimated oldest tortoise on Changuu Island is 196 years old.
The Aldabra tortoises are actually endemic to the Aldabra Atoll in the Seychelles, the governor of the Seychelles gifted 4 of them to Zanzibar in the 18th century. The tortoises bred until they were around 200, however in 1960s, their number began to drop as people were stealing them to sell for food and as exotic pets. In 1980, there were only 100 fully grown tortoises left and by 1996 there were only 7.
The Aldabra tortoises are categorized as vulnerable species and to put a stop on stealing of these tortoises, 80 hatchling were moved to Prison Island for protection. The Prison Island’s geographical isolated got a new function, instead of being a place of exile, it became a sanctuary for the Aldabra tortoises.
The Aldabra tortoises on the prison Island are housed in a compound surrounded by trees, munching lettuce and cabbage in the dappled light. They sleep in the shade and cool off in muddy puddles, currently there are around 100 tortoises of different ages and sizes living on the Island alongside a few peacocks. Visitors to the prison Island can interact with these amazing creatures.
How To Get To Prison Island
The Prison Island is located approximately 3.5 miles northwest of Stone Town and is only accessed by boat, the boat trip takes around 30 minutes. Note that the trip can get a little choppy.
There is no public ferry so if you are travelling independently, you will need to take a motorized dhow – a traditional sailing boat with a long narrow hull from the Stone Town’s harbor.
Prison Island Today.
Prison Island entirely lost its use as a quarantine station, but remained in the ownership of the government who converted the newer quarantine buildings into a guest house. The building later ceased to be a guest house but later it was reopened as a hotel by a private company, the hotel has 15 holiday cottages in the northwest of the island as well as a tennis court, swimming pool, a library and the old European Bungalow has been turned into a restaurant named after Mathews.
Water used at island is transported via an underwater pipe from the Zanzibar mainland.
Prison Island is still owned by the government and the old prison remains standing providing shelter for some of the tortoises and the cell can be visited.
