AYV News, July 18, 2025
The Legal Aid Board, with funding from the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), represented a total of 951 remand and convicted inmates whose cases were reviewed at the just concluded Prison Court held in ten Correctional Centres in the country.
These include sittings in Magburaka Correctional Centre,Kabala Correctional Centre, Makeni Correctional Centre,Kambia Correctional Centre, Port Loko Correctional Centre,Mattru Jong Correctional Centre, Moyamba Correctional Centre, Kenema Correctional Centre, Waterloo Correctional Centre in Western Area Rural District, and the Pademba Road Male and Female Correctional Centre in Freetown.
Among the 951 inmates represented by Legal Aid Counsels in the ten centres, 376 had their sentences reduced to time spent and were released, 3 were granted bail, while the remaining 572 had their sentences reduced or maintained. Those whose matters were reserved for judgment should be delivered without delay, and Magisterial Matters to be concluded.
Among those released, 75 were from the MagburakaCorrectional Centre; 14 from Kabala; 87 from Makeni; 43 from Waterloo; 25 from Kambia; 59 from Port Loko; 21 from Mattru Jong; 8 from Moyamba; 53 from Kenema and 23 from the Male and Female Correctional Centres in Freetown.
Among those released in Freetown was John Mensa, a Ghanaian national, who was serving a 30-year jail term forbeing guilty of larceny by trick. John was released and deported to his home country, Ghana, following the review of his matter and reduction of his sentence by Justice AlusineSesay, JSC.
The Prison Court is a session set aside by the Judiciary to review cases of over-sentenced and remanded inmates from the Magistrate and High courts. It also helps to decongest Correctional Centres.
