By Francis H. Murray
Members of the Judiciary of Sierra Leone last week conducted a tour of correctional centers in Freetown as part of activities marking the end of the 2019-2020 criminal session.
The tour which was preceded by a jail delivery by Justice Alusine Sesay, was meant to ensure that the services offered by the centers match international human rights standards.
Moses Lamin Kamara, Public Relations Officer of the Judiciary, said the inspection was geared towards ensuring that the human rights of the inmates were guaranteed based on international best practices.
The male and female correctional centers in Freetown were visited as part of the tour that included Supreme Court Judge, Justice Alusine Sesay, and Justice Miata Samba, as well as lawyers members of the press.
The team visited the male correctional center at Pademba road, Freetown where over a thousand inmates are kept. The center which was originally built to accommodate 300 prisoners, now contains far more than that number, leaving it constantly overcrowded.
According to the Regional Commander, Western Area, Moses Bob Sesay, this is something the Sierra Leone Correctional Services was struggling to deal with.
“We have water supply from Guma which is also not enough. So we subsidize by filling up Milla Tanks as standby. This is so because the supply from Guma is not on a daily basis,” Sesay told the inspection team.
Although the population of the center is a concern, it has over the years been engaged in reforming the inmates through vocational skills and training activities like tailoring, carpentry, production of wooden and metal doors, locally made sandals, computer and adult literacy classes.
John J. Kargbo, who is the deputy head of the male correctional center bakery, said that 11 bags of flour was used on a daily basis in the baking of bread for morning breakfast.
According to Thomas Ngegba, a nurse at the male correctional center, its hospital has only 20 beds and a doctor with more than fifteen 15 nurses. He said they make referrals of critical cases to the Connaught government hospital.
At the female correctional center, which has an inmate population of 56, the environment looked a little more conducive for living, the rooms clean and tidy.
“The division has a data collection center which keeps records of all the inmates and a hospital to treat sick inmates. We have a water well here that was sponsored by the German Corporation and a television room where the inmates watch TV,” Irene Sesay, Commanding Officer.
The inmates who were neatly dressed, apparently in preparation for the visit, pleaded with the judges to shorten their pre-trial period.
Inmates spend months, some even years, before their cases get called for trial.
Justice Sesay assured the inmates that the judiciary would work on their concerns. He also admonished prison authorities to do something about prisoners who looked mentally deranged.
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