Kondengui Central Prison

Kondengui Central Prison is a maximum security prison in Yaoundé, Cameroon. It has been the subject of numerous international criticisms for its overcrowding and poor conditions.

Kondengui was constructed in 1967 and was originally built to house 1,500 inmates.^[1] The facility has 16 toilets and 400 beds.^[1]

In 2002, prisoners were fed one meal a day and given 4.4 ounces of soap every six months.^[1] In 2003, the US Department of State issued a "scathing" report on Cameroonian prisons in which it noted that Kondengui was severely overcrowded, housing a population of 9,530 in space meant for 2,000.^[2] In 2011, Amnesty International described the prison conditions to be "harsh, with inmates suffering overcrowding, poor sanitation and inadequate food. Prison guards are poorly trained, ill-equipped and their numbers inadequate for a big prison population."^[3]

Notable current and past prisoners

• Albert Womah Mukong, a bookstore owner and pro-independence activist who wrote Prisoner Without a Crime based on his six years in prison during the 1970s and later became the head of Human Rights Defence Group, was imprisoned in Kondengui Central Prison in 2001 for his position on the self-determination of English speakers.^[4][5]
• Garga Haman Adji, politician, later Minister of Civil Service^[6]
• Issa Tchiroma Bakary, politician, later Minister of Communication^[7]
• Jean-Claude Roger Mbede, imprisoned for homosexuality and named a prisoner of conscience by Amnesty International^[5]
• Germain Cyrille Ngota Ngota, journalist whose arrest and death while in detention were protested by Reporters Without Borders^[8] and the Committee to Protect Journalists^[9]

In popular culture

Makossa singer Lapiro de Mbanga referenced the prison in a popular 2007 anti-corruption song, with lyrics including "Send them to Kondengui Prison. Everybody to Kondengui... ministers, directors send them to Kondengui".^[10]

References