Gbarnga City Council Wants Overcrowded Central Prison Moved to New Facility

Published: November 2, 2026

GBARNGA, Bong County — Gbarnga Central Prison is reportedly holding more than three times the inmates it was built for, and the Gbarnga City Council is asking the national government to study moving it to a modern correctional facility.

A council resolution urges the Ministry of Justice and the Bureau of Corrections and Rehabilitation to lead a feasibility assessment and coordinate plans for a suitable site. Public reports have put the prison population at about 440 inmates in a facility originally designed for about 130, a figure the council said still has to be confirmed against official prison records.

Council Chairperson George Philip Mulbah said the facility was built decades ago as a temporary holding compound and lacks the space to run rehabilitation programs.

“We would not use the current prison facility because the capacity is small for the implementation of any rehabilitation programs,” Mulbah said at a ceremony in Gbarnga on Thursday.

He said a purpose-built correctional center would let inmates learn practical skills and prepare to return to their communities.

The resolution says a new facility should provide humane living conditions, adequate health care, clean water, proper sanitation and better security for inmates and correctional officers. It also calls for programs in education, vocational training, counseling, agriculture, sports and skills development.

The council said the national government has not approved relocation, no site has been selected, and no funding or construction date has been confirmed. It said work on a new facility should not delay urgent improvements at the existing prison, particularly in sanitation, health care, water supply, accommodation and safety.

The resolution calls for a feasibility assessment covering potential sites, construction and operating costs, land ownership, environmental conditions, road access, electricity, water supply and other infrastructure. It also recommends a technical committee of national authorities, county and city officials and other stakeholders to coordinate studies, consultations and a possible relocation roadmap.

Overcrowding at the prison is not new. In August 2025, The Liberian Investigator reported that more than 400 people were being held there, including about 249 pretrial detainees, amid concerns about delays in prosecution and the administration of justice.

Liberia Land Authority Bong County Administrator Amelia D. Queens Cassell said her office has identified a potential site around the Ninth Judicial Circuit Court for the proposed projects, but negotiations with the landowners have not been concluded.

Bong County Council Chairman Aaron Sackie-Fenlah pledged to lobby his colleagues to include funding for the prison project in the county budget, even if the county administration does not propose the allocation.

Mulbah also announced plans to relocate Gbarnga’s only cemetery, citing environmental concerns and the challenges of managing the growing city. Sackie-Fenlah’s budget pledge covered the cemetery project as well.

Bong County Superintendent Loleyah Hawa Norris and Gbarnga City Mayor Gallah K. Varpilah attended the ceremony, along with civil society representatives and other stakeholders.