The results of a recent study on the situation of prisons in Yaounde and Douala were presented in Yaounde.

The situation of prisons in Cameroon is deplorable and is getting worse every day. The results of a recent study on the situation of prisons in Yaounde and Douala were presented during a one-day workshop in Yaounde on November 23. The study by the Project for the Protection of the Rights of Inmates and Detainees (PRIDE) of the Catholic Relief Services (DRS), reveals that overcrowding, slow judicial process and lack of application of polices are the major problems in the Douala Central Prison and the Kondengui Central Prison.

Speaking at the occasion, the Resident Representative of Catholic Relief Service, Lori Kunze said it is the wish of the organisation and its partners that at the end of the meeting they would come out with a consensus which will be included in the memorandum of understanding. She expressed the wish that conference will enable CRS and its partners to move ahead in the improvement of the quality, efficiency and a synergy of work in prisons in the country.

The conference was an opportunity for stakeholders in the judicial and prison sectors to examine problems in prisons in Cameroon. Also, the conference presented the data base of the two central prisons of Yaounde and Douala. The project PRIDE is a joint initiative of CRS with the Cameroon Bar Association, the Justice and Peace Commission of the Yaounde Arch Diocese and the Justice and Peace Commission of the Douala Arch Diocese. It is financed by the US government. The project is part of contributions to the process of finding lasting solutions to the problem of overcrowding in prisons in Cameroon.