Yankuba Sonko, the Interior minister, has admitted that the country’s central prison Mile Two is overcrowded and plans to overhaul it has been put on hold due to lack of financing. 

The minister made the revelation during an appearance before the National Assembly Select Committee on Human Rights and Constitutional Matters. 

“It is just something we cannot avoid because the courts are supplying the prisons with prisoners,” the Interior minister told the lawmakers. 

Mr Sonko said he has given directive to the authorities at the prisons to give regular update on the number of prisoners at the cells so that the judiciary would find rather than jailed petty criminals.

He said Mile Two does not have space for new structures to be built upon. “We are building new structures in Jeshwang.”

The prisons director general Ansumana Manneh said the issue of overcrowding was being addressed with the use of virtual courts. 

He said the virtual court was being done with the support of the UN agency, UNDP, and it has “helped in decongesting the cells”.

Mr Manneh said there is an ongoing construction of extra cells at Jeshwang Prison to hold remand prisoners from Mile Two.