By Gideon Nma Scott, Jr.
Human rights officers from the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Liberia office are calling on the government to appoint an independent panel to investigate a shooting incident at the National Palace of Correction in Zwedru, Grand Gedeh County.
The incident led the death of a 22-year-old inmate who was serving pretrial detention on allegation of theft of property and wounded several.
According to the prison report, on March 25, 2023, several inmates at the national prison facility stormed the prison facility in demand for proper nutrition and hygiene in their cells. The inmates claimed that they were being denied adequate food supply, safe drinking water, proper toilet facility in the various cells as among others.
The Director of the National Palace for Correction, Mr. Crispin Doe, alleged that some angry inmates broke through their cells and made their way to the safe where they kept machetes and other silent weapons and began running after unarmed prison and later made their way to the one of the perimeter walls before the joint security responded and calmed the situation.
He claimed that the incident occurred when some inmates in Bloc D accused a prison officer who had gone to open up their cell of stealing his wallet. While in the argument for the missing wallet, the inmates overpowered the two officers who were investigating the case.
“They broke the other cells and let other inmates out who began stoning the few officers on duty,” he observed.
He said that while trying to contain the crowd, some inmates attempted prison break, but were prevented by the joint security officers who responded to their call.
“In the process, one of them, a 22-year-old man identified as Jerry Kpawon was disabled and about persons wounded,” he observed.
Director Doe accused deceased and others for allegedly attacking the PSU officers with machete before he was gun down by one of them.
“It was a PSU officers who shot Jerry after he and other inmates attempted attacking the officer with cutlass,” superintendent Doe narrated.
“This is an issue of right to life,” OHCHR human rights officer, Atty. Roosevelt Jayjay asserted.
Atty. Jayjay reminded the prison superintended that the Liberia National Police Act of 2015, Section 3 (a), which seeks “…. to ensure the safety, security, protection of life and property and respect for human rights throughout the Republic of Liberia.”
He noted that the prevalence of police brutality has the propensity to wreck the thrust between the police and the citizens.
The UN human rights officer believes that if proper investigation is done to establish the actual shooter and the incident leading to the shooting, law enforcement will be careful how they respond to disturbance at public and private institutions.
“We will insist that the government sets up an independent panel that will unearth the actual incident behind the shoot and bring the culprit to justice if found liable,” Atty. Jayjay said.
For his part, his part, Ademili Ademola observed that the Article II, paragraph three states of the African Chatter of Human and People’s Rights which states that each State Party should ensure that any person whose rights or freedoms are violated shall have an effective remedy, notwithstanding that the violation has been committed by persons acting in an official capacity.
He noted that the PSU officer was acting in his official capacity as a state security officer which makes the alleged shooting a gross violation of the right of the victim.
“No one has the right to take the right of another person whether a criminal or not,” the UN human rights officer said.
He said the state is under obligation to protecting life and all should be done by state actors that the right to life is respect and protect.
Article 20 (a) of the Constitution of Liberia states that, “[n]o person shall be deprived of life, liberty, security of the person, property, privilege or any other right except as the outcome of a hearing judgment consistent with the provisions laid down in this Constitution and in accordance with due process of law.
“This is just one of several cases of how rights persons in detention are denied,” Ademimola asserted.
“Liberia has ratified other international human rights treaties and has adopted other human rights instruments that guarantee the protection of life including Article 3 of the UDHR, Article 6 of the ICCPR, and Article 4 of the ACHPR and Article 24 of the CPRD,” he concluded.
