By Janet Sesay
Officials of the Judiciary, Law officers department and Legal Aid Board have visited inmates of male and female correctional centres to know the welfare of the inmates.
During the visit, Justice Alusine Sesay and team were briefed by the Regional Commander West of the Male Correctional Centre, Moses Bob Sonny.
The Regional Commander told the team the correctional centre had more than fifteen and that the centre can accommodate up to 30 inmates. Bob Sonny explained the nurses’ mandate being to look after sick inmates. “If an inmate is sick to a point the nurses cannot handle the health problem, the sick inmate could be taken to the Connaught Hospital for proper treatment,” the Regional Commander said. He also informed the team that the sanitary condition of center had improved since the “bucket system” was introduced. “We now have buckets which the inmates can defecate in and that has helped in improving sanitation in the correctional facilities,” Bob Sonny said. However, he could not rule water challenge, which he said continue to undermine sanitation in the correctional centre facilities. “Guma Valley Water Company gives us water twice a week,” he said. The Regional Commander spoke about the vocational opportunities available in the centre. “Convicted inmates learn basic different skills in carpentry workshops in the centre facilities,” he said. “The furniture which the inmates produce at the centre are sold and the money kept into their account. They can have access to the accounts when their jail terms expire,” he explained. He however stated that condemned prisoners are always taught the word of God. The centre commander mentioned a football field where the inmates organize different leagues as a way of recreation.
The judicial officers’ visit also took them to the Female Correctional Centre at New England in Freetown headed by Chief Superintendent, Irene Sesay. CSP Sesay told the team that 56 female prisoners are housed in the facilities and that eight out of this number are “mentally ill” while eight have been pardoned by the President. “ The Female Correctional Centre have a child-friendly for the inmates who usually give birth,” she said. Head of the female centre also informed the visiting team that the centre has a shop where the female inmates could buy their provisions and toiletries. “Computer school is also at the centre where female inmates are taught computing, and there is also a hospital staffed with trained nurse from Connaught Hospital,” she concluded.