By Binta Jaiteh
Some of the disciplinary officers at Mile 2 Central Prison are accused of beating inmates and sexually harassing the prisoners.
This was revealed in the 2021 annual activity report of the Office of the Ombudsman to parliamentary committee on Finance and Public Accounts Committee (FPAC).
The report added that Disciplinary Officers touched some inmates’ private parts through strip searching. One of the inmates said that he was asked to take off his trousers and when he complied one of the disciplinary officers touched his buttocks and penis.
The report stated that there was shortage of essential drugs such as paracetamol and some of the inmates at Mile II Prison said that it was their relatives who bought drugs for them.
Human Rights Director at Office of the Ombudsman,Landing Bondi, told the committee that most of the situation has not changed.
The complaints we made in 2021 were not solved and government failed to provide food for the detainees adding that it was the family members who brought food to the prisoners .
“We have told the Director General this has to be addressed, now that the torture act out, the matter will not be compromised” he argued.
According to the report, Janjanbureh Prison did not have an ambulance to take sick inmates to BansangHospital when treatment could not be provided by the health center in the place.
Furthermore, inmates at Mile II Prison informed the visiting team that the prison authorities used to provide them with blankets and sheets but that was only for a short time. They added that they did not have any blanket at that moment. Sweaters were also not provided to inmates to protect them from cold during harmattan. Inmates at Janjanbureh Prison said that many of them had only one pair of uniform instead of two or more.