Reports reaching this paper have revealed that prisoners at the Monrovia Central Prison on Center Street are actively engaged in sodomy.

Making the disclosure to this paper early this week at the offices of The INQUIRER, an inmate (name withheld) who got released about a week ago explained that his three-week stay in the Central Prison was his worst nightmare he had ever experienced.

According to him, he was sent to prison for an offence he committed against his mother, but later regretted the incident, and promised never to repeat such act.

Giving a detail report about some of the bizarre situation he encountered at the prison, the former prisoner said, "When the police placed me in cell MB-3, the president for the prisoners asked me if I had my condom with me. I was afraid and I told him no, but he said he was going to have sex with me because that is the rule for new prisoners."

According to him, he pleaded with them since he had never been involved in such an act, but the president, who he described as 'Jewie', said he was not going to spare him since that was their rule "when I started crying, the four star general who is the second man in command for the prisoners government, and happens to be my friend, told Jewie to leave me alone because I was a child.

The former prisoner said it was based on the 'four star general's' request that Jewie spared him from being sodomized.

Commenting on several other issues, the former prisoner said the prisoners are actively involved in smoking drugs, particularly marijuana without the notice of the official prison guards. He further stated " they can do their smoking at night and then have sex with their friends at night. When the prisoners are crying, the police officers can be afraid to come around to save the person who is crying".

Responding to a question on how the prisoners get hold of drugs in the cell, the released prisoner alleged that the drugs are usually taken there by female relatives who usually visit the inmates and some foreign pastors who usually visit the prison in the name of preaching the gospel to the inmates.

Following this startling revelation from the former prisoner, our reporter visited the Rehabilitation Center of the Ministry of Justice to verify the truth, but was later referred to the superintendent of the Monrovia Central Prison since the Deputy Minister for the Rehabilitation Center was out of the city.

When contacted, the Superintendent of the Monrovia Central Prison, Lt. /Col. Barsee W. Dougbakollie, said the information was strange to him and that his office was not aware of such abominable acts happening in the cells. He also called another inmate to verify the story; unfortunately, the inmate (name withheld) confirmed that the story was true.

According to the inmate, he was also a victim of sodomy, but not in the prison but rather by some officers of the Pakistani Battalion (Pakibatt-5) in Tubmanburg, Bomi County.

He lamented that he was molested by a Pakistani officer while fetching for job for his sustenance "but when I got through with the job, the officer called me inside and had sex with me. When he finished, he gave me US$ 10 and told me to go back again," he said in a morose tone.

He admitted that he smokes cigarettes "when they give me my food, I sell it to 'Big Daddy' for L$10 and buy the cigarette from him." He said the prisoner who is known as 'Big Daddy', is a drug pusher in the cell.

Having listened to the other inmate, the Superintendent in a rather confused mood said he was shocked to have heard that such things exist in the cells. He said he would do the best he can to put an end to the situation.

Commenting on the over crowdedness of the cells, the Prison Superintendent said the Judiciary system is weak to the extent that it has failed to try cases and as a result of this act, inmates with minor offences languished for over a year in the prison, while those with greater offences stayed up to three years in the cells; "they are like the 'forgotten' by the Ministry of Justice and those who took them there," he concluded.