BackIt can be recalled that the Office of the Ombudsman, in line with its mandate to receive complaints from prisoners and detainees, started visiting prisons, police cells and other places of detention. The Ombudsman and her team visited the Mile II Central Prison, Janjanbureh Prison, Jewshwang Prison, about sixty-five police cells, and three immigration detention centres.
The findings are contained in a brief report, which the Ombudsman is sharing with key stakeholders to highlight the conditions of detainees as well as the working conditions of the staff in charge of those detention centres.
The Ombudsman and deputies have so far met with the director general of prisons, the minister of interior, and the inspector general of police to share with them their findings. The Ombudsman and deputies are also due to meet with the attorney general and minister of justice and the chief justice.
The Ombudsman aims to bring to the fore, the issues of prisons reform, enhanced delivery of justice, and improved conditions of detention as an underpinning for our democratic governance. The Office seeks to engage the relevant authorities to bring about immediate changes to some urgent matters; while setting in an agenda for change in the medium to long term for more holistic and far-reaching reforms in tandem with best practice. The Ombudsman strives to ensure that the rights of all persons as enshrined in the 1997 Constitution of the Republic of the Gambia are protected at all times.
Prisoners and detainees are particularly vulnerable hence the need for coordinated efforts with the above-mentioned stakeholders to have in place high standards that meet our aspirations in line with democratic good governance.
Source: Office of the Ombudsman, Gambia
