Human Rights Defender Decries Congestion, Torture In Cameroon Prisons

/By Macdonald Ayang Okumb/

     The Secretary of the South West Regional Office of the National Commission on Human Rights and Freedoms, Christopher Tambe Tiku, has observed with regret that the problems of over-crowding, torture, poor hygiene and inadequate feeding are far from abating in prisons in the Region.

Tambe Tiku: Human Rights Defender

     During a workshop in Buea last Wednesday on the fundamental human rights of detainees, organised by the Commission, Tambe Tiku said the problem was so worrisome that government needed to take urgent steps to redress.

     “...the state of Cameroon has ratified several international human rights treaties. Once you ratify an international treaty, you undertake, ipso facto, to respect all the provisions enshrined in that particular treaty by providing administrative and judicial measures...government must take its responsibility to improve feeding and hygiene conditions in prisons...” Tambe Tiku said.

     Acknowledging the fact that deplorable prison conditions were not only peculiar to the South West but the entire country, the human rights advocate and University of Buea Law Don however stated that; “from numerous visits that we have carried out in our detention centres especially in the Buea upper farms and central prisons, we have found that there is overcrowding and there is no separation between minors and adults...”

     “...It is important that we bring this to the attention of the authorities that these acts constitute serious violations to proper prison conditions which are international norms which Cameroon has ratified in many international treaties....”he averred.

The workshop was not just on prisoners’ human rights but also of other detainees who have necessarily not been convicted of any crime. “

     “...it’s important for us now to sharpen the skills of penitentiary staff, the Police and Gendarmerie because they also run detention centres in their respective establishments....we have also entertained complaints from victims and relatives of inmates, human rights defenders, journalists, social workers relating to the unbearable situation of over-crowding in the prison milieu That is what has motivated this training workshop...” Tambe Tiku explained.

     The Buea Central Prison, for example, which was built to host just 200 inmates, now harbours more than 700, more than half of which are awaiting trial. To Tambe Tiku, the courts also have a crucial role to play. Hear him:     “...the courts are the ones that are supposed to dispose of the various matters which have dragged people to prison. And To deal with the problem of over-crowding; if matters are dealt with expeditiously and speedily, we think that it can help to an extent in solving the problem...”

     The workshop had four presentations and other speakers included former Prisons Administrator General, Marie Nana Abunaw, who suggested that government also needs to lay emphasis on restorative justice for prisoners in order to discourage recidivism. 

     The workshop attendees, among others, included Penitentiary staff, judicial police officers, gendarme officers and human rights activists.