Former information minister and UDP stalwart, Amadou Scattred Janneh, has called for prison reform in order to give young people a chance at better life after serving terms.
Speaking on Dialogue with the Youths show hosted by Ebrima Janneh on Wednesday, Dr Scattred Janneh who was sentenced to life under erstwhile president Yahya Jammeh for treason declared:
“The prisons act needs to be updated because the one we have is since colonial era. Family visitation is limited to only 30 minutes. Health care for the inmate population is extremely poor. This has been a major disappointment for us because we thought things will change. Health has been a problem for the general population much more the prisoners. Remand is still a long wait. Look at the case we filed against Golden lead and how long it has taken, it’s the same for prisoners on remand who have been detained.
The prison population is dominated by young people. Young people need vocational training and rehabilitation to help them be useful members of society when they get out. But prison in Gambia is like a warehouse where they take the youths and take them out as necessary”.
Dialogue with the Youths is hosted every Wednesday on Gunjuronline by UK-based Gunjurian Ebrima Janneh.