By Landing Colley
The prisons Director General, Ansumana Manneh Monday testified before the Truth, Reconciliation and Reparations Commission (TRRC) as the Commission converged after lapsed of the State of Public Emergency declared by the government to control the spread of coronavirus pandemic in the country.
Answering the Lead Council’s questions he said “I was aware the time when the prison was called five star hotel and maybe due to the bad condition of the place that is why the former president called it five-star hotel. The hardship of the Mile 2 prison, even the security officers does not abstain from it.”
He disclosed that prison is to help reform the inmate so that if they are back to the society they might become better people. He stressed that it was not like that hence there is no program putting in place that could help the inmate in case if they live the prison they can help themselves.
Testifying on the conditions of prisoners, he said it is a right of prisoners to receive visitors but when certain group come before they will allow to be visited it takes time. He stated that even security had problem through assisting inmate after the government has termed them as enemy.
He said that people taken to prison through the executive directive are people mostly from various places which includes government officials, district heads, civilians (popular businessmen, politicians, and religious leaders) and mostly they are from the NIA.
The witness was asked if non-convicted detainees were kept at the security wing, the witness responded affirmative saying “yes it used to happen and mostly they were soldiers and government officials could also be part of it.”
He said prisoners are sometimes denied from receiving medical attention saying “I witnessed it, time to time when medical officers prepared the list of the prisoners to go to the hospital. Then the list will be taken to Director General’s office and sometimes the Director General will removed some of the names.”
“The state of the food is still the same since 1994 up to date and according to the prison Act which is approved by (NANA).”
“The food was not in a good quality because there was an outbreak of a disease call berry-berry and this disease is causes by when a food lacks good quality,” he said.
