By Mohamed Vandi in Pujehun
Officer in charge of the district state prisons in Pujehun has disclosed to Politico that for over eight months they have not had any female inmates serving a jail sentence or being held on remand. Superintendent Edward Turay said the development was a clear indication that women were holding back from causing troubles in the district. He said that with a prison capacity for 76 people, there were 88 male inmates, with only ten from within Pujehun and the rest were brought in from Kenema and Pademba Road prisons. He said most of the inmates serving jail sentences were brought in for “sexual penetration and unlawful carnal knowledge”, adding that he was very comfortable with the conduct of his officers and the prisoners. Supt Turay said that they had never had any jailbreaks, despite the small team of 23 officers he manages. He thanked the Catholic Mission in Pujehun for providing them with toiletries and other basic items for the officers and prisoners. The Local Unit Commander in Pujehun, Superintendent Nathaniel Brewah, confirmed that there had been a reduction in crime rate in the district and that women had not been involved in some of the problems associated with crime. He said land disputes were the most frequent of cases, most of which he attributed to unfavourable agreement between the land owners and the users. He cited the land agreement between the agribusiness company, SOCFIN and landowners, as well as a land dispute between two church missions as recent cases of police interests. © Politico 07/11/13
