Gbarnga, Bong County – Inside the Gbarnga Central Prison is a maze of chain-link fences, razor wire and guard towers in Liberia’s central located county.
Report by Selma Lomax, [email protected]
Inside, the first roll-call to ensure all inmates are accounted for is underway.
In quick succession, iron doors open to reveal hundreds of half-naked bodies pressed together on the concrete floor of their cells.
Their cages are filled with the fetid smell of sweat, dirt and human waste.
Evidence that the prison is being choked with inmates; some on short sentences and others waiting to appear in court, it’s not exactly hard to find.
Here, more than 250 inmates share a prison designed only for 100 persons.
“This is the worst congested prison in the country,” claims a prison guard, who requested anonymity.
In the capital wing, which is housing more than 14 inmates facing the capital punishment, dozens of inmates are herded into tiny cells with the capacity for about one and five prisoners.
“There are 12 inmates here in this cell meant for only three people,” says the prison guard, pointing to an old stinking cell. There are only two mattresses and no blankets.
One of the inmates is 30-year-old John Kesselle, who has been locked up for four years, facing a charge of robbery with violence – a capital offence.
“I haven’t put on my clothes because we’ve been sweating throughout the night,” he says.
Four years on, my case is still pending in court and I am still here, he said meekly.
Prisoners out for sunbathe
It is 10:00 in the morning 20 inmates in tattered prison uniforms, and others in ordinary clothes are emerging from their cells.
This is the frontline of the prison overcrowding crisis, not just in Bong County but Liberia. You can sense the tension here.
“As you can see, some of them have no prison uniform – this is another problem here, ” a prison official said.
“We don’t have enough uniform for all prisoners.”
In one prison ward, 20 squatting inmates serving short sentences are crammed into one room meant for only 10 prisoners sharing only five mattresses.
The prison is also home for nationals of other countries. Sekou Swaray from the Republic of Guinea has been here for eight months, surviving on half-cooked spaghetti, while he awaits trial.
“This is the worst prison I have ever seen. Everything about this place is bad, including the treatment from the people here,” he explains.
“We are surviving by the grace of God – I don’t think any human being can survive here.”
And there are clergymen also doing time here. Inmate like Reverend Peter Morris of a home-grown church has been here since 2015. He was arrested in Totota, Bong County during a riot, he says.
“I spend my time here preaching and spreading the word of God.”
But not many have found consolation in religion.
Thirty-two-year-old P – popularly known as TT – has been here for four years facing a charge of murder. He says sodomy, a criminal offence in Liberia, is common in the prison.
“Because of congestion, people here sleep pressed body to body and this body contact leads to these kinds of trend.”
But the Gbarnga Central Prison jail, like many other facets of Liberian life, is also catching the wave of freedom after the ushering of the George Weah-led government.
Inmates are now demanding change.
“You can’t solve any problem here without dealing with congestion. Also we want provision for basic necessities – blankets, for example, mattresses, good food, and we want a prisoner-friendly system and law, and less delays in processing our cases in court,” an inmate identified as Dave says.
“We are not here thinking about sex. But if other countries can make provision for an inmate to meet his wife while in jail – Why not us? We would also like that.”
It is lunchtime and the prison staffs conduct the second roll call of the day.
The smell of rice and boiled vegetables mingling with the overpowering stench of raw sewage is everywhere.
Until now, little was known about what went on inside the prison walls of the only major penitentiary in the central city of Gbarnga.
For many years, concerns have been raised over the inhuman conditions in Liberian jails and claims of torture, brutality and congestion have been frequent.
Since coming to power six months ago, the CDC government, which took power from Unity Party after 12 years, has promised to review the prison system and improve the living conditions of more than 5,000 prisoners in the country.
But for now, the brutality and negligence, which have been so present at Gbarnga Central Prison, is the hallmark of jails throughout Liberia.
Janeh Mulbah, head of the Gbarnga Central Prison, who has been in the prison service for two years, sums up the frustrations shared by the prison staff and prisoners alike.
“The story is the same everywhere in our jails. Congestion because of delays in court cases, leading to more and more congestion. Lack of funds to provide for basic essentials for inmates. Simply, the system cannot cope anymore.”