By: Momodou Justice Darboe
As of last Saturday morning, the detention cell at the police HQ in Banjul was damp, filled with stench due to urine and filth at the one end.
The cell was also virtually threadbare as detainees had only mats to sit and sleep on.
It was covered in urine smell while rubbish accumulated in one of the rooms within.
When this reporter asked one of the officers, who entered the cell on Friday morning as to why the police should not remove the mounting rubbish from the cell, the officer responded: “Let them [detainees] clean it and we will dispose it off.”
However, some detainees have made it their duty to sweep and clean the cell but some said the police were not supportive to them in their effort to stay in a hygienic environment.
Meanwhile, the police was also providing only one meal to the detainees from Thursday to Saturday and some detainees said this was the norm.
“If you don’t have a family or friend who brings food, you will go through a very difficult time here. Food is served only once daily and is barely nutritious,” bemoaned one of the detainees.
Meanwhile, the detention cell can be also very cold and almost all the detainees, who were there last Saturday, had no blankets.
