The Minister of Justice, Oswald Tweh, has sharply reacted to the shutting down of the Monrovia Central Prison on grounds that no prison should be closed to the public.
He stated that the prison superintendent does not have the right to shut down the prison gates.
The Minister statement comes days after the Superintendent of the Monrovia Central Prison (South Beach), Varney Lake, announced a closure of the prison facility due to its over crowdedness.
The Ministry of Justice in its press release clarified that it had already resolved the substantial issues prior to the media’s coverage of the situation.
Minister Tweh assured the public that the prison is open and has never been closed adding that the prison superintendent does not have the authority to close the prison gates or halt admissions.
On July 5, 2024, Lake wrote a letter to the office of the Acting County Attorney of Montserrado, Alihaji Swahilo Sesay, bringing to his attention that the overwhelming increment of inmates at the facility with a capacity of 374 which is already a challenge with accommodation.
Lake mentioned that the feeding of inmates in custody has now reached an alarming stage and the facility owes some 10 months Prison Subsistence Fund (PSF) for inmate feeding pointing out, “We have done all that we could to keep the prison open but as of tomorrow July 6, 2024 there is nothing in store to feed inmates in prison beside the Rice ration that is been supplied.”
The Prison Superintendent furthered, “In that regard, the prison authority is informing your office that starting Monday July 8, 2024 that the prison gates will be closed to new admission of defendants in our custody until the food crisis is address.”
“In view of the above, we anticipate that this communication be taken seriously because if not, this may cause a serious hindrance to the rule of law that we as a nation is playing low key,” Lake said.
Min. Tweh said despite facing various challenges, the Government through the Ministry of Justice’s Bureau of Corrections and Rehabilitation (BCR), has successfully implemented a financial solution to address the subsistence issues at the prison facility as outlined in the ministry’s budget.
The release comes as a result of a communication dated July 5, 2024, from the Monrovia Prison Superintendent Varney Lake to the Acting County Attorney of Montserrado and the Director of Prison, Sainleseh Kwaidah at the Ministry of Justice, highlighting a significant increase in inmate population to 1,541.
However, the Ministry of Justice in its release noted the superintendent’s concerns that feeding the inmates has become increasingly challenging but to the issue of an ultimatum for the prison to stop accepting new admissions as of July 8, 2024, said the Ministry is dedicated to upholding and enforcing the rule of law while protecting the rights of all residents and citizens and adhering to the highest international human rights standards.
