The Sierra Leone Bar Association (SLBA) has upgraded the Kingtom Remand Home in the nation’s capital Freetown as part of their efforts to improve the condition of detention facilities of juvenile detainees as part of their charitable effort rendered at different intervals.

The facility was handed over on the 7th June 2023 at an event which engaged a cross section of members of the Sierra Leone Bar Association, the director of public prosecution, the officer in charge of the remand home, representatives of Marampa mines, UBA and ECO banks, representative from the Ministry Of Social Welfare, caregivers, well-wishers and the inmates respectively.

The renovation will take to cover the dilapidated dormitory and installation of new sliding gate at its main entrance which may be of greater impact to the facility.

As was reported by AYV news, before the  intervention of the bar Association under the leadership of President Eddinia Michaela Swallow, the Human Rights Commission of Sierra Leone, released the State of Human Rights Report stating; “detention facilities for juvenile across the country remain in bad shape.”

The Commission observed that dormitories at the Kingtom Remand Home were found in poor condition. The report states that although mattresses and beds were discovered, they were in a deplorable condition and as part of the Association’s charitable initiative, the SLBA handed over a well-renovated dormitory and a corrugated iron sliding gate to give them a befitting life even behind bars.

It is also noted that the Bar Association also presented capacity building resource materials to support skills development and livelihood opportunities for detainees. That will have help them in becoming very useful to their communities and vital to the nation at large.

The management and others welcomed the rehabilitation with good faith as well as owing the project from start to finish and to ensure that the goal is achieved as they anticipate more goodwill.