13/05/2024
PRESS RELEASE
The attention of the Gambia Prison Service (GPS) was drawn to a publication made by the Voice Newspaper dated 9th May 2024, with the headline; “Mile 2 wardens accused of sexually-Harassing inmates”.
In the same article, the Voice Newspaper claimed to be quoting the ‘2021 Annual Activity Report of office of the Ombudsman to the parliamentary committee on Finance and Public Accounts Committee (FPAC)’ has made numerous unfounded claims ranging from harassment of prisoners, beatings, lack of medications, feeding among others.
However, to avoid ill-informed conclusions by well-meaning Gambians, the management wishes to set the record straight and clarify on some of the unsubstantiated allegations mentioned in the said report.
1. On the issue of feeding as reported in the Newspaper, the management of the prison wishes to emphatically make it clear that the government of The Gambia is more than committed to providing enough feedings for the inmates at the prison. Following the change of the government in 2016, the government of The Gambia conducted an assessment of the country’s prisons with the desire of addressing some of the key issues they are encountering. Providing good meals for the prisoners was among the issues highlighted. We can clearly say that since then, the yearly budget for the prisoners feeding alone has significantly improved. In fact, to set the record straight, the government of The Gambia has increased the budget for prisoners feeding from 27 million dalasis in 2023 to 47 million dalasis in 2024. This clearly demonstrates that the current government under the leadership of President Barrow, is committed to addressing the challenges the prison services are encountering.
Meanwhile, only individuals who are currently remanded at the prison by our reputable courts are allowed to receive food from their family members.
2. In the same report, the author, still quoting the ombudsman report, claimed that some disciplinary officers at the Mile Prison beat inmates and sexually harassed them. The management of the prison unequivocally denied such claims. It is important to note that since the change of government in 2016, the GPS is among the most reformed security and public institutions in the country. The management of the prison will never allow any inmates to be subjected to any form of harassment, talk less of beatings. Beatings of prisoners have never happened and it will never happen under this current administration and certainly not in this current government.
3 Again, on almost a daily basis, the senior management of the prison aside from their continued routine to the prison, do convene meetings at the prison administration building. Top among the issues discussed during such convergence, is about the welfare and condition of the prisoners. Almost in all of these meetings, the director general of the Prison do strongly emphasised the need for the prisoners rights and dignity to be respected at all times. Therefore, under no circumstances he will allow harassment or beatings of prisoners to be conducted at the prison.
4. It is also important to note that this current administration is developing a lot of policies and guidelines that are geared towards ensuring that prisoners' rights are respected. These are all measures put in place with a view to ensure that no prisoner is subjected to any form of beatings among others as claimed by the report.’
5. On the issue of “strip searching” which is a practice of searching a person for weapons or other contraband suspected of being hidden on their body or inside their clothing, we want to clarified despite the fact that these are accepted norms everywhere in the world, but in the Gambia prisons, we ensure that inmates are not thoroughly subjected to these practise. However, when inmates are brought to the prison, we ensure that they are searched in order to ensure that they don’t get in the prison with any object or any other things at the prison. Even those officers that do administer these searches, are always advised to do so with utmost respect to the individuals.
6. Again, on numerous occasions during these searches, prison officers do at some instances detect some items from people that are brought to the prison or relatives of prisoners that come to visit their loved ones.
6. On the issue of shortage of medications at the prison, we want to authoritatively report that prisoners' health condition is among the top priorities of the prison administration. Due to the commitment of the management, a qualified and experienced health worker was employed by the GPS. Therefore, with his dedicated team, they are doing everything possible in ensuring that prisoners' health is improved. If there is no medication at the prison, we always request medications from the relevant authorities. Where a prisoner (s) needs medication and there is a shortage of medications, we always ensure that the individual is referred to the country’s main referral hospital Edward Francis Small Teaching Hospital or any nearby hospitals.
7. On the issue of no ambulances at the Janjangbureh prison, we wish to state it clearly that there are three vehicles at the said prison. A brand new es**rt van and two other new pick-up Toyota vehicles. These are all geared towards ensuring that the issue of transportation from Janjangbureh to Bansang Hospital becomes a thing of the past.
The management of the prison will continue to do their best in ensuring prisoners right, dignity are respected at all times. We will continue to provide that enabling environment for them.
Additionally, we will continue to work with all respected public and private institutions in the country namely; the office of the ombudsman, National Human Right Commission among others all geared towards nation building.
We wish to state that the government of The Gambia through the Ministry of Interior and the Gambia Prison Service (GPS) is more than committed to reforming the country’s prison as it is manifested in the massive reforms that have been undertaken for the past years.
Finally, we urged the members of the press who are our critical partners to always contact the department for any clarifications on anything that is fit for public consumption.
Director of Admin
files
Signed by spokesperson of the GPS
