By Garmah Never Lomo, garmahlomo@gmail.com
TUBMANBURG – The ruling CDC government is said to be violating the rights of inmates at prisons and detention centers across the country, with the lives of some being put at risk due to deplorable conditions there.
One of such prisons is the one in Tubmanburg, Bomi County, western Liberia, where some prisoners are said to be going through trauma and being exposed to abuse by angry mob. In some instances, they are transported on private motorbikes, without the use of Justice Ministry’s vehicle due to lack of logistics.
Rights of prisoners are guaranteed by both the United National conventions and under the Liberian constitution.
Article 3 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) states that everyone has the right to life, liberty and security of person. Right to life is one of the basic human rights and is available to both either to prisoner or to freemen. Prisoners are not subjected to torture, cruel, inhuman treatment in the prisons
Investigations revealed that inmates/prisoners at the Tubmanburg central prison are being feed only one time a day the since the Groege Weah government took power in January 2018. Apart from being underfed and poorly fed, all other facilities are lacking.
During a visit at the prison facility, it was discovered that the only hand pump used by the prisoners has been damaged, thus leaving prisoners to burst the top to squeeze whatever they can get from it. In fact, it has not been treated with chlorine for a long time, something causes running stomach for prisoners.
The Ministry of Justice through the prison Director of Liberia, Edwin Foday Macgill has been notified about the condition of the hand pump, as well as the lack of vehicle to transport inmates. Grass has grown in the only vehicle used to transport prisoners, because the proper authorities have refused to repair it, it was learned.
Lack of proper logging of visitors at the facility is also an issue. A logging book to keep track of visitors is scare coupled with the lack of electricity, something that is said to be posing serious security challenge at night, as the entire area is pitch dark.
More so, the particular risk at night on the prison compound has to do with the existence of an open hand-dug well, where prisoners might accidentally fall into. Some inmates here complain of hunger and lack of medical care.