By: Janet A Sesay
Chief Superintendent of Prison Foday Ishmael Kamara on Friday 9 September 2022 before Justice Allan Halloway at the close of the High Court Session in Freetown has given an analysis of inmates at the Freetown Male, Female and Reintegration correction service.
Led in evidence by state prosecutor Umu Sumaray, superintendent Foday said there are two thousand and fifty-six (2,056) inmates at the male, female and reintegration correction service.
He further informs the court that inmates enjoy recreational facilities in the Male correctional facility they have a football field where they normally play games on weekends and they also have indoor games like checkers, draft and Ludo.
Superintendent Foday continues that for now there is only one doctor from the Ministry of Health that is assigned to the prison for the entire country and the doctor is always at the centre from Monday to Friday except Saturdays and Sundays.
He said the prison provided security officers out of the centre on a shift basis if an inmate is admitted out of the centre.
In terms of food, he said the inmates have breakfast in the morning and double diet in the afternoon which is lunch and dinner.
He said each inmate is served 32 ounces per meal and for breakfast, they are served with bread and butter or bread with mayonnaise for inmates who are under special care their diet are been determined by the nutritionist.
He said for the lunch menu on Monday they cook beans and rice and on the other days, they are served with potato leaves and groundnut soup.
Mr. Foday continues that the foreign national is not used to Sierra Leone food so they have to provide for them their food and the inmates who attends court sitting usually meet their food when they return.
He said in terms of sanitary the inmates are still operating in the bucket system.
He said they have access to a toilet during the day but at night they use the bucket system and they empty it in the morning.
He said in terms of water they are working with Guma and they are having water frequently they usually have a water bouncer that also supplies water to them.
He said that the inmates take baths daily but some inmates refused to take their birth.
He said visiting hours are every Tuesday, Thursday and Friday and it is free and inmates enjoy the facility to watch television.
Cecilia Tucker from the Sierra Leone Legal Aid Board said during the last closing session certain recommendation was made by the court that has not been fulfilled like the bucket system and the hospital that was burnt down during the prison break.
She said that the court order the same witness at the last closing session to inform their authorities about the bucket system and the hospital but still there is no improvement.
Superintendent Foday said senior management of the prison has written a letter to the Ministry of Health and the Ministry of Internal Affairs about the recommendations but it is still pending NGOs went to prison and they survey the hospital and the workshop but it is still pending as there is no development yet.
The witness said for the Male correctional facility they have 324 cells and they have six to seven people in one cell.
He said for the female facility they have fifteen cells.
He said the government is trying to relocate the Correctional centre to Songo and they have met with land owners and a discussion is in progress.
He said the management is encouraging doctors to apply and they have already had three doctor applicants but they are still waiting for the government to fund them as there is no funding yet
He said that the challenges they are facing are with the mentally ill inmates as they are been rejected at the Kissy mental ill home, adding that some of them are hostile.
Justice Halloway, therefore, ordered Superintendent Foday Koroma to meet his authorities again to work on the recommendations of the court about the bucket system and the hospital by the next closing session of the High Court.
