Prisons PRO reacts to Spectator allegations

Based on Thursday 11^th March, 2010 publication in the Spectator Newspaper on volume 5, number 34 story headline ‘Cocaine discovered at Pademba Road,’ written by Alford Dillet this information was not correct because nothing like this item has never been sold at the Maximum Prisons, and in fact this particular issue has not happened in any of the prisons in this country, not only thinking about it in the centre prisons, therefore it is a surprise to the entire administrative staff of the Sierra Leone Prisons Service to hearing it because, looking at this issue, the journalist would have  crosschecked his information before publishing. The Department is ready to  allow everybody that may like to get reliable news from them but in this case such did not happen. Meaning the publication was full of  misleading information, without source, and contained distorted material. (Photo: Mohamed Opito Jimmy, author)

This same paper published another article on 16th Tuesday 2010 with a head line ‘Vietnamese Gone Mad at Pademba Prisons’ on Volume 5 Number37 with a quotation that the author contacted the PRO of Prisons on his Zain phone but he got no response – these are all fabricated lies, because everybody that knows the PRO very well knows that he only deals with Africell and Comuim networks. Also at the same time the newspaper said the PRO refused to give the Vietnamese in question name to the press, which is also another way of misleading the public. As we all know the press is there to work in the interest of the nation and not to have personal interest in certain things which are not correct, as it is reported in the Spectator.  In fact in the Prisons we don’t have yard cleaner at all and this was stated in the article.

Talking about the Vietnamese where the paper says Prison authorities shaved his hair and that made him go mad, I am advising the reporter to visit the Prisons PRO an get what actually happened rather than misinforming the public. Since this Vietnamese was sent to Prisons with his colleagues, he was abnormal, that is a fact. The Doctor at the prison referred him to Doctor Nahim for a further medical check-up and indeed he is still not well and is admitted at the Prison hospital, not because as the paper alleged that it was because his hair was cut he went insane, this is not the case. He has never been shaved or had a hair cut since he was brought into the Prison. All interested members that may like to understand what is going on behind bars, should come directly to the Headquarters and enquire from the appropriate authority. However, in these issues, nobody from Prisons was contacted.

The Prisons should not be indicted on matters that are based on allegations as has already been done by Spectator Newspaper.

To make things easy, this Department is asking the publishers of the news to contact Doctor Nahim for further investigation in order to get accurate.

On the issue of saying that prisons authorities advise all officers not to explained anything concerning his allegation on the cocaine matter, the entire Prisons authorities are now calling on him to make any proof beyond reasonable doubt as they also want to know the direct source where the Spectator get their information from as it has already become a public concern.

Based on this allegation, the Officer–in-Charge, Pademba Prison Assistance, Superintendent Lamie Bangura, responsed immediately on the Sierra Leone Broadcasting Television station to the entire nation that all what was said in the Spectator was not actually crosschecked.

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