Government should come clean on cells

THE Ministry of Safety and Security needs to break its silence and spell out what it is doing to improve conditions in the country’s Police holding cells, National Council (NC) members said yesterday.

An NC committee, which recently visited the various regions, reported this week that conditions in the country’s Police holding cells need urgent attention. Some of the committee’s findings include children being locked up with and used as sex slaves by older inmates, and contagious diseases spreading amongst inmates due to the dire conditions in overcrowded cells.Holding cells countrywide are reported to be overcrowded, humid and dirty – echoing a similar report submitted to the National Assembly by the Ombudsman’s office last year.In his report, Ombudsman John Walters stated that many toilets located in inmates’ sleeping quarters are broken beyond repair, which contributes to the lack of hygiene.”The time has come for us as a House of Review to call on Ministry Permanent Secretaries to give answers for some of these things”, NC Vice Chairperson Margaret Mensah-Williams said during yesterday’s NC session.”Everybody seems to be so against homosexuality, but looking at what goes on in our prisons the country is promoting this”, Mensah-Williams said.When vulnerable children are locked up with hardcore criminals, they are not rehabilitated, she said, but rather learn new criminal skills which they then use upon being reintroduced into society.”Could this not in fact be one of the reasons why babies and women in our society are being raped? These boys come out of jail and they conform to what they were taught in there.I’m not saying they’re the only ones doing this, but the fact that our youth become sex slaves in the care of their Government is unacceptable,” she said.She said the situation in the country’s prisons was proof of a lack of proper planning by those in charge, adding that those responsible need to answer to the investigation’s findings.”We go out there to investigate these things, but our money, Government’s money, the taxpayer’s money, is being wasted if nothing happens afterwards.We need to get those responsible to come out and explain themselves, and not somewhere (obscure).They need to explain themselves in public because it is because of the public’s input that we know about these things,” she said.Another contribution, which caused some laughter in the house, came from Swapo councillor Henock Kankoshi, who commented on the report’s findings that Police work was being hampered by a severe shortage of transport.Kanskoshi suggested that the Ministry of Safety and Security provide enough money in its budget for repairs to official vehicles.”It is very disturbing, especially at rural Police stations, that you find a Police car not being roadworthy, but if the Police find an ordinary member of the public using a public road with his or her skoro-skoro, they will charge that person.Even if the condition of his [Police] vehicle might be worse,” Kankoshi said.Some of the committee’s findings include children being locked up with and used as sex slaves by older inmates, and contagious diseases spreading amongst inmates due to the dire conditions in overcrowded cells.Holding cells countrywide are reported to be overcrowded, humid and dirty – echoing a similar report submitted to the National Assembly by the Ombudsman’s office last year.In his report, Ombudsman John Walters stated that many toilets located in inmates’ sleeping quarters are broken beyond repair, which contributes to the lack of hygiene.”The time has come for us as a House of Review to call on Ministry Permanent Secretaries to give answers for some of these things”, NC Vice Chairperson Margaret Mensah-Williams said during yesterday’s NC session.”Everybody seems to be so against homosexuality, but looking at what goes on in our prisons the country is promoting this”, Mensah-Williams said.When vulnerable children are locked up with hardcore criminals, they are not rehabilitated, she said, but rather learn new criminal skills which they then use upon being reintroduced into society.”Could this not in fact be one of the reasons why babies and women in our society are being raped? These boys come out of jail and they conform to what they were taught in there.I’m not saying they’re the only ones doing this, but the fact that our youth become sex slaves in the care of their Government is unacceptable,” she said.She said the situation in the country’s prisons was proof of a lack of proper planning by those in charge, adding that those responsible need to answer to the investigation’s findings.”We go out there to investigate these things, but our money, Government’s money, the taxpayer’s money, is being wasted if nothing happens afterwards.We need to get those responsible to come out and explain themselves, and not somewhere (obscure).They need to explain themselves in public because it is because of the public’s input that we know about these things,” she said.Another contribution, which caused some laughter in the house, came from Swapo councillor Henock Kankoshi, who commented on the report’s findings that Police work was being hampered by a severe shortage of transport.Kanskoshi suggested that the Ministry of Safety and Security provide enough money in its budget for repairs to official vehicles.”It is very disturbing, especially at rural Police stations, that you find a Police car not being roadworthy, but if the Police find an ordinary member of the public using a public road with his or her skoro-skoro, they will charge that person.Even if the condition of his [Police] vehicle might be worse,” Kankoshi said.