#National News

Team Gom Sa Bopa presents gifts to Mile 2 Prison

Feb 12, 2021, 10:54 AM | Article By: Isatou Ceesay Bah

Gambian rap star and activist, Killa “Ali Cham” Ace through his Team Gom Sa Bopa on Friday visited the Mile II Central Prisons where they donated to inmates and guards at a ceremony held at Mile 2.

The donated items include, sugar, milk, ‘garri’ and tea as well as menstrual pads to female inmates. Face masks were also donated to guards to keep them safe from the Covid-19 pandemic.

The visit also accorded The Gambian rap star the opportunity to meet and discuss with Prison officials about his new initiative dubbed the "Uplift Project". The “Uplift Project” is basically designed to stem the recycling of inmates after completing their prison sentences.

Killa Ace was accompanied by other members of his Gom Sa Bopa including, Pa Malick Jobe and Yusef Taylor commonly known as Flex Dan.

During his audience with prison officials, Killa Ace informed that his ''Uplift Project" is designed to keep ‘our brothers and sisters off the streets and out of prison’.

Killa Ace, who himself spent some time at the Remand Wing in 2019, equally discussed at length how his prison experiences motivated him to commit to supporting inmates at Mile 2.

He, however, bemoaned how disturbing it was to see inmates he knew being recycled in the system. 

Also speaking at the ceremony, Flex Dan, a member of Team Gomsa Bopa emphasised that besides the kind donations, Team Gom Sa Bopa is also thinking about how together ‘we can reduce the recycle of inmates because that will reduce the congestion of prisons and make the work of Prison Officers easier.’

For his part, Ansumana Manneh, Director of Gambia Prisons Service, admitted that whenever one sees a happy prison officer ‘you know that the prison is not congested.’

Manneh recommended that Team Gom Sa Bopa sends a letter to the relevant authorities including the Ministry of Interior to plan a way forward and engage in discussions to see what can be done to assist prisoners completing their sentence to be able to integrate and contribute meaningfully to society.