Four prisoners were able to escape from Tonj Central Prison in Warrap State last week owing to inadequate facilities, according to the officer in charge. They were subsequently recaptured.

Fidelis Majok, director of Tonj Central Prison, said that the lack of water and sanitation facilities gave some prisoners the chance to escape last Tuesday when they were taken for bathing at the riverside.

The inmates were subsequently recaptured and taken back to the prison where they were chained up, said Majok.

Currently there are 281 inmates accommodated at the county prison including 14 women and 267 are men.

According to the prison director, keeping a good environment for the inmates is a constant challenge. He claimed that a UN agency had promised to build pit latrines and provide water facilities but the initiative was later diverted to Twic County without proper explanation.

Majok appealed to national and state governments to help in providing water and other hygienic facilities to improve the lives of inmates at Tonj Central Prison.

In a related development, 192 new prison wardens have been dispatched to the three counties of Tonj South, Tonj East and Tonj North.

File photo: A prison in Raja, Western Bahr al Ghazal (Radio Tamazuj)