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Momodou
Denmark
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 Posted - 15 Jul 2024 : 01:20:12
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Judicial Accountability: Mile 2 Inmates Speak to Judges
By Kexx Sanneh
A judicial committee headed by Justice Ebrima Jaiteh, a judge of the High Court with the support of Justice Basiru V.P. Mahoney, a judge of the Gambia Court of Appeal, conducted a visit to the Gambia’s main prison centre dubbed Mile 2. Honourable Omar Cham, the Master of the High Court together with two judicial support staff were part of the entourage. The visit was conducted on Friday, 12 July 2024
The Judicial Prison Visiting Committee came up in the 2023 Legal Year address, where Chief Justice Hassan B. Jallow announced the Judiciary Prisons Visiting Committee to be constituted, which will be mandated to visit and audit the remand wings of the prisons and also cases of prisoners on appeal every six (6) months and report to him on instances of prolonged detentions and recommend remedial measures accordingly.
The Committee will assist in ensuring that accused persons do not linger in prolonged custody without being brought to court. Chief Justice Jallow stated that he would issue a practice director to judges and magistrates requesting them to consider granting bail or discharging accused persons where the prosecution failed to proceed diligently with a case 90 days after the institution of the proceedings.
“This intended to encourage prosecuting authorities to proceed more expeditiously and diligently with cases of those charged and remanded into prison custody,” Justice Jallow said.
The National Human Rights Commission, has been indicating in its annual reports the conditions of inmates. Some lost track of their cases. A good number of the inmates missed going to court. Some are detained without being charged while others have their cases pending in courts without any progress.
On the morning of Friday, the Committee on Performance of Judicial Accountability on the prisons visited Mile Two to advise the Chief Justice on the status of the inmates remanded in Mile 2.
During the face-to-face interviews with inmates. The inmates told the judicial authorities that they face difficulties in accessing court records to appeal decisions. Omar Cham, the Master of the High Court informed them that they have employed 14 new typists to address the problem. He said they will be stationed in Bundung and their work will be mainly on typing.
It was noted that some of the inmates were charged at the magistrate’s court and were transferred to the high court because the lower courts lacked the power to try those cases. However, after the transfer, these people would be remanded in Mile 2 but their cases would not proceed in the high court because the case files are not transferred. They will stay with the police while the inmates live in Mile 2 without their cases being heard at the high court. It was discovered that some of the inmates have spent so many years in detention without appearing in the high court.
It was noted that some of the case files were lost. Some of the inmates claimed that they had never been taken to the high court based on the claim that they were searching for their misplaced files and detained without hope in their faith.
The interviews also revealed that almost 20 inmates are having issues with mental health but they were mixed among the other inmates. Some of them were taken to a psychiatric facility but were returned to Mile 2. Prison authorities informed the judicial committee that some of the mentally ill people were returned after setting fire at the psychiatric centre.
Lamin Jallow is a mentally ill person who has never appeared in court. Pama Jara Bah has been in detention for 4 years without a court appearance.
It was discovered that some of the inmates’ cases could not proceed because of the lack of diligent prosecution. The inmates complain that the prosecution lawyers and the defence lawyers are the reason for the prolonged detention of their repeated absenteeism. Some of the detainees have been undergoing trial for 9 years, 10 years, 11 years, and 20 years without an end.
Some of the inmates said they do not have access to judgments delivered in their cases. They raised concerns that it makes it difficult for them to understand the court’s decision and decide whether to appeal or not.
Other sections of inmates said they did not have lawyers to represent them and they could not file their appeals. Justice Jaiteh told them about the National Agency for Legal Aid (NALA), but the inmates replied that they did not have any idea about NALA.
Detained soldier, Lance Corporal Sanna Fadera, who was detained for staging a coup against President Adama Barrow also raised a concern to the Committee. The convict said after his sentencing the prosecution filed an appeal and on their first appearance, the Court of Appeal informed the State to put their house in order.
He added that since that day, which is over half a year, he has never appeared in court. He stated that he has an intention to also appeal against his conviction. Justice Mahoney told him that he could appeal on his own. Justice Ebrima Jaiteh advised him to balance the situation before filing an appeal because the Appellant Court can add, subtract or maintain the decision of the High Court.
Some of the inmates informed the committee that they would be on trial for one year to 4 years while in detention. In the end, the court would convict them for six (6) months or a year. This means the duration they spend in prison is more than their sentence terms. This is why the courts would discharge them on the day of sentencing.
They asked whether they were entitled to compensation for being in jail for more than the duration of the crime they committed. They were informed that it was a matter for the Ministry of Justice and not the Judiciary.
A lady detainee said she was convicted by the high court for human trafficking. She stated that the prison authorities informed her that if she paid the Fifty Thousand Dalasi (D50,000) fine, she would be released. She claimed that she made the payment, but she was not released even though she was told by the Prison Officials that she would be released.
Justice Mahoney told her to look at her judgment properly to understand the verdict of the court. He told her it could be a fine or imprisonment or both a fine and imprisonment.
We dug in our records to show that the lady, Jennifer Ozeum, a Nigerian was convicted and sentenced on two charges. Count one was human trafficking and the sentence was an imprisonment of 15 years with a fine of D50,000. Count two was importation of person in the Gambia and the sentence was 15 years with a fine of D50,000.
Therefore, her claim was not supported by the court’s decision as she was asked to pay a fine and also serve her sentence of 15 years. The court held that the sentences would run concurrently (together).
Another inmate was convicted of rape and sentenced to 20 years imprisonment. He has served for almost 8 years. He claimed that he wanted to appeal but he was told that his case file was missing and until now he could not file an appeal.
Another female inmate appealed to the Committee to consider female inmates. She stated that some of them are young and getting old in prison without getting married while the old ones are aging without children or husbands. She asked the committee to consider pardoning them.
Justice Mahoney informed her that it is the decision of the Executive (Government) to pardon prisoners and not for the courts to do so. He added that their mission was to look at the cases and know their status in a view to expedite trial.
The Committee expressed concerns about the decision of the prison authorities to mix mentally ill people with those who are mentally stable in the cells. It was recommended that the Committee should work with the prison authorities and the Justice Defenders to identify prisoners with mental health issues and bring them to court on Monday before Justice Ebrima Jaiteh to assess their cases.
Those who are not threats to society will be released on bail and placed under the custody of their families while for those who are deemed to be aggressive, the Ministry of Health and Ministry of Interior will be engaged to place them under proper care.
The Committee stated they would be reporting their findings to the Chief Justice. They will address the issue of missing files and cases that are stagnant without diligent prosecution.
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A clear conscience fears no accusation - proverb from Sierra Leone |
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Judicial Accountability: Mile 2 Inmates speak
