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.
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.
Credit: FPA,Liberia