Liberia's largest prison, the Monrovia Central Prison, has begun turning away new inmates due to overcrowding and fears of disease outbreak, the justice ministry and prison officials have said.
Justice Minister Frank Musa Dean told the BBC that those being denied admission at the facility were inmates accused of minor offences.
“Where no damage was done or nobody was wounded, people arrested on minor charges are to instead be returned to communities and kept under the watch of community leaders," Mr Dean said.
It follows local media reports that prison guards were refusing to admit new inmates as part of an ongoing strike over a delay of salaries. Prison officials have denied the claim.
The prison was built to hold around 300 inmates when the population of Monrovia was about 300,000. It now holds over 1,600 inmates in a city of about 1.5 million people.
Inmates at the facility include convicted murderers and armed robbers.
“Of course when there is an increase in population, correspondingly there’s an increase in crime rate,” Mr Dean said. “And there’s a challenge.”
Engineers from the ministry of public works are working on a blueprint to construct additional wings of the prison that will take up to 1,000 inmates, according to the justice minister.
Latest Stories
-
Titanic gold pocket watch sells for £900,000
13 mins -
Elon Musk in China to discuss enabling full self driving – reports
18 mins -
Foreign Affairs Ministry advises against travelling to Northern Mali
32 mins -
After dating him for three years, I proposed to my husband
35 mins -
Beatrice ‘Bee’ Arthur tackles plastic pollution through artistic exploration
1 hour -
Hundreds turn out for Luv FM/Telecel Fitness Walk in Kumasi
1 hour -
Ghana Post launches Asantehene Commemorative Stamp
1 hour -
Police fire tear gas to disperse Benin wage protest
1 hour -
Airline keeps mistaking 101-year-old woman for baby
2 hours -
Harvey Weinstein hospitalised after conviction overturned
2 hours -
Anis Hafar: Learning how to avoid wars
2 hours -
Private legal practitioner wins Akan NPP parliamentary candidate poll
2 hours -
American-Israeli hostage appears in Hamas video for first time
2 hours -
Samson’s Take: Arrogance of Power, Shameful Policing
9 hours -
Burnley score late to draw with Manchester United at Old Trafford
11 hours