Government urged to improve jail security after breakout

MEMBERS of the public have mixed views about who should be blamed for the breakout at the Bomana jail, which saw 12 dangerous criminals escape.
A former senior primary school inspector, Peterson Kollant, told The National that the Government should accept blame for not providing enough funds for manpower and logistics support in the police and Correctional Service (CS).
He said there was a need to recruit more CS officers while improving all the jails throughout the country, with security surveillance equipment like cameras and detectors.
Mr Kollant added that the Government also needs to pass urgent laws to forbid the use of tinted vehicle windows in the country.
He said the only people who should be allowed tinted vehicles are the Prime Minster and the Governor-General.
The judiciary should also be blamed for the mass breakouts currently experienced throughout several jails in the country, he said.
Mr Kollant said the actions of the remandees were due to the prolonging court decisions.
He said many remandees were still waiting for their verdicts for many years in the jails.
Thus, they have been denied their rights to a fair hearing, he said.
Mr Kollant cited the example of two detainees named as John Nap and Palaus Nap, who have been in jail for seven years waiting for a decision.
He said the courts were independent and should speed up such cases as the accused deserved to be proven guilty through a fair hearing.