By: Aminata Kamara
Former Executive Director of the campaign group Prisons Watch, Mambu Feika, recently discussed the ongoing transformation of Sierra Leone’s prisons into correctional centers, highlighting persistent challenges in their operational realities. Speaking on SLiK TV’s Today Show on July 10, 2024, Feika emphasized that despite the conceptual shift from prisons to correctional centers, the practical conditions within these facilities remain largely unchanged.
Feika pointed out that a decade after the repeal of the 1960 Ordinance, personnel of the Correctional Service still dress as Prison Officers and lack essential equipment, motivation, and support necessary for effective duty execution. The transition aimed to empower the Sierra Leone Correctional Service under the Ministry of Internal Affairs to manage centers nationwide and enhance facilities. However, Feika expressed concerns that ongoing underfunding and the absence of a dedicated headquarters hinder the service’s ability to go beyond basic operations.
Established with the enactment of the Sierra Leone Correctional Service Act 2014, the Sierra Leone Correctional Service (SLCS) replaced the punitive approach of the former prison service with a focus on reform, rehabilitation, and inmate reintegration.
Responding to these concerns, Director of Correctional Services, Lamin Bangura, acknowledged ongoing efforts to construct the SLCS Headquarters—the institution’s first dedicated administrative building. He highlighted initiatives enabling inmates to acquire computer skills and develop talents, yet admitted challenges of severe overcrowding and insufficient staff across all twenty-one correctional centers. For instance, Pademba Road Maximum Security Prison, originally built in March 1914 for fewer than 340 inmates, currently houses 1,699 individuals.
These developments underscore ongoing efforts and challenges in transforming Sierra Leone’s incarceration system from punitive measures towards holistic inmate rehabilitation and societal reintegration.
