By: G Bennie Bravo Johnson I
The Women Situation Room (WSR), a peace body in Liberia on Friday, June 14, 2024, donated twenty-five bags of rice to the Monrovia Central prison.
The conglomeration of women said the gesture was in memory of Charles Sirleaf, son of former President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, Cllr.
Making the donation, former foreign minister, and chair of the board of directors of the Angie Brooks International Center for Women Empowerment, Peace and Security, OluBankie King-Akerele stated that the donation is in memory of Chiles Sirleaf, son of former President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf.
Minister King-Akerele stated the former president has instructed all those wanting to pay tribute not to give flowers but to make donations to prisoners who need basic commodities.
“Charles Sirleaf was imprisoned right here for unjustified reason. But while here, we understand he did a lot for the upkeep of prisoners here. Our former president said to us, “I do not want money, I do not want flowers but whatever you want to do, do something for the prison for the prisoners keeping, a momentum of what he was about and what he did. It is against that backdrop that we, the eminent of the Women Situation Room have come to make this donation to his memory as part of his legacy because he was here and he experienced what they are experiencing.”
In addition, the initiator of the WSR, Cllr Dr. Yvette Chelsson-Wrueh intimated that the donation is the way the Women Situation Room sympathies with its champion, Madam Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, former President of Liberia. She stated that it is painful for someone not to be buried by their child but to bury their child, adding that it is not how nature made it.
“For someone to bury their child is painful and questionable. That’s not how nature made it. It is so sad to happen that way. So, we say, we are with her in her time of grief.”
In a brief statement, Liberia’s Former Chief Justice Cllr. Gloria Musu Scott, currently serving a life sentence along with her family at the prison commended the WSR for their initiative and expressed sympathy to the former president for her loss.
Her words, “Let me take this time to extend my deepest sympathy to our former president, Madam Ellen Johnson Sirleaf for the loss of Charles. It’s a sorrowful situation that only God can console her. It is not an easy pain to lose a child.” The decision she made to say that all flower designs should be channeled through donations to the prison is not a one-time donation. It’s a way of swaying attention to what is happening at the prison. It’s a way of saying to people who are close to her and Charles Sirleaf don’t forget about those in prison at the Monrovia Central Prison. She wants you to see the condition of those in prison and see what you can do about it.”
Cllr. Scott highlighted the importance of addressing the pressing issue of water scarcity within the prison, emphasizing that it is a critical and immediate need. She called on the Liberian government, through the Liberia Water and Sewer Corporation, to prioritize the provision of water to the prison facility.
For his part, the prison superintendent lauded the WSR and extended condolences to the former president, Madam Ellen Johnson Sirleaf for the loss of her son who once served a sentence at the central prison.
In furtherance, he called on the national government and international partners to assist the prison management with the provision of needs for prisoners. He added that the water situation at the central prison is a concern that needs to be addressed with urgency.
He added that during that dry season, all the wells run dry due to the environment, but can access some water during the rainy season which is not sufficient and healthy enough to serve the water needs of inmates.
