NHRC Chairman Says Gambia’s Prisons Have Improved, but Overcrowding Still Threatens Inmate Welfare

By Seedy Jobe

The chairman of The Gambia’s National Human Rights Commission said the country’s prison conditions have improved steadily over the past several years, but warned that chronic overcrowding, inadequate sanitation, and delays in the criminal justice system continue to pose serious challenges.

Speaking in an interview with QTV on Wednesday, the commission’s chairman, Mr. Emmanuel Joof, said monitoring prisons and detention facilities is a central part of the commission’s legal mandate because detainees are among the country’s most vulnerable people. He said the treatment of inmates should be guided by the United Nations Standard Minimum Rules for the Treatment of Prisoners, commonly known as the Mandela Rules.

“The prisons were very bad. There has been a gradual improvement. Really, if you have been there in 2019 and now, unless you have not been there, you will still be shocked,” Mr. Joof said.

He pointed to several areas where conditions have improved since 2019. Cells at the Mile 2 Central Prison that were previously considered unfit for human habitation have been taken out of service, he said. Food quality has also improved following a period when poor nutrition was linked to inmate deaths.

Mr. Joof said access to health care has expanded, while facilities such as the Jeshwang Prison have benefited from renovations supported by development partners. The commission has also conducted training for prison officers in the Greater Banjul Area and Janjanbureh on minimum standards for the treatment of detainees.

Vocational training programs for inmates have likewise grown, with organizations including MRC Holland supporting rehabilitation initiatives in Janjanbureh and other parts of the country, he said.

Despite those gains, Mr. Joof described overcrowding as the prison system’s most pressing problem, saying it reflects broader shortcomings within the criminal justice system.

He said some remand facilities built to accommodate about 20 detainees now hold as many as 100, creating severe pressure on sanitation and other basic services.

“Remember, we have a prison that was built during the colonial period, and they have never expanded,” he said. “The space is not even there. So if you say that this was supposed to be for 20 remand prisoners, now you’re holding 100.”

He also expressed concern about conditions for women and children in detention. Although Jeshwang Prison now has a separate juvenile wing, he said authorities must continue ensuring that children are not housed with adult offenders. He added that living conditions for female inmates and prison officers remain inadequate.

Mr. Joof said the government has committed to constructing a new correctional facility on a site identified beyond Brikama. According to him, the proposed prison will include separate sections for high-risk offenders, juveniles, and women, as well as vocational training facilities designed to support rehabilitation.

But he cautioned that building a new prison would not, by itself, resolve the overcrowding crisis.

He argued that the problem is driven in large part by delays in police investigations and court proceedings, which keep remand prisoners in custody for extended periods and contribute to rising inmate populations.

“Justice is a chain link,” he said. “So if remand prisoners’ cases are slow, you are filling the prisons again with remand prisoners, then you will have overcrowding.”

Mr. Joof called for a broader review of the criminal justice system, including greater use of alternatives to incarceration, such as probation and other sentencing options available under the country’s criminal procedure laws.

He said the National Human Rights Commission would continue to monitor detention facilities and advocate reforms aimed at ensuring prisons meet minimum human rights standards while addressing the structural causes of overcrowding.