Faith Nyasuguta
All 15 jails in Liberia have run out of food for prisoners this week.
Following this, two correctional facilities, among them the main Monrovia Central Prison have temporarily closed their doors to newcomers, according to prison officials.
The situation has been tied to a number of factors including delays in remission of funds for food and upkeep for prison facilities.
However, prisons boss Sainleseh Kwaidah on Monday revealed that the state was doing everything to avert the situation.
He noted that after some interventions, the two prisons that had stopped admitting inmates had reopened their doors and food was reaching other facilities as well.
A prison warder informed the BBC that the prisons had closed their doors to avoid endangering more people following the food shortage. He indicated there was also a possibility that enraged prisoners could stage jailbreaks.
Upjit Singh Sachdeva alias Mr Jetty, a renowned businessman, has stepped in to provide food to avert the crisis. For years, the businessman has provided cooked meals for inmates in the Monrovia Central Prison.
Recently, prison warders decried the government’s handling of the affairs of the overpopulated correctional facilities.
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