Bless Zoshe
Buea, Cameroon
Fifty Prison warders and other officials of the penitentiary corps in the Southwest region have acquired new techniques on Human Rights and the improvement of detention conditions in Cameroon.
This was during a three day capacity building workshop which ended on Thursday April 4, 2013, at Fakoship Plaza, Buea.
capacity building of penitentiary staff on human rights and improvement of prison conditions in Cameroon
Organized by two Buea-based NGOs; Forestry, Agriculture, Animal, and Fishery Network, FAAFNET, and the International Centre for Environmental Education and Community Development, ICENEODEV, participants were drawn from Kumba, Mamfe, Bavenga, the Upper Farms and Central Prisons, as well as officials of the Regional Delegation of Penitentiary Administration.
In her opening remarks, the Southwest Regional Delegate of Penitentiary Administration, Madam Florence Kekay said it is important for the staff of every service to go in for training regularly; to keep them versed the modern techniques of dealing with inmates.
Despite acknowledging that such seminars have greatly curbed the abuse of the rights of inmates, the delegate however noted certain key lapses that need urgent attention.
Penitentiary Administrators after capacity building workshop
“We have had so many trainings on human rights and it is difficult to find us abusing the rights of inmates now. But I think for one of those things we still have to work on, is the length of stay of those awaiting trial. We have to really improve on that, so that the inmate, who gets into prison, knows for how long he or she is going to be in prison. That way, you don’t waist so much time as an ‘awaiting trial’, and in the end, you are released; because there are so many forces involved in this.” Kekay said.
On his part, one of the key resource persons; a certified negotiator, mediator, Barrister-at-Law, Lecturer, and International Consultant, Dr Valentine Nde-Fru, recommended that prison warders and administrators be considerate and humane, in their treatment of inmates not necessarily because they have a duty from government to do so, but because as human beings, we are supposed to feel for one another.
Madam Florence Kekay, Southwest Regional Delegate of Penitentiary Administration
“We should not forget that today you can be a warder or prison official, and tomorrow, you become a prisoner. So, by advocating for better standards for those who are incarcerated, you do so for yourself, your children, your friends, wife, and so on because anyone of them can be in prison tomorrow.
I have seen what obtains here in Cameroon, and what obtains in the Western World. What obtains in the West is considered best practice on the treatment of prisoners, but what happens in Cameroon is so lacking and backward. In the Western world, prisoners serve just their prison term, and after that come out of prison and live a normal life. But in Cameroon, some prisners even end up with mental illnesses and other health issues because of the prison condition. That is not how prison conditions should be in Cameroon.”
In Cameroon, some prisoners have become beggars; they don’t have the basics, even getting portable water is a problem. So their condition of life is not guaranteed. A person can be put in prison, and he or she ends up dying in prison.
certified negotiator, mediator, Barrister-at-Law, Lecturer, and International Consultant, Dr Valentine Nde-Fru
So deprivation of liberty should not be condemnation to death.
Consequently, Dr Nde-Fru advocated that prison administrators make an extra effort.
“Those kind words can bring back that sparkle in the eyes of prisoners. We should not be indifferent to their condition; we should not dehumanize them, or treat them as demons.
Prison authorities should make their doors open, so that those who can help should go in, help these people, and make our prison system a better one,” Nde-Fru added.
Speaking on the topic Health Care in Prison, Dr Wilfred Akam singled out the cases of HIV and Tuberculosis as serious health problems in prison setups, not only for the inmates, but also for staff and administrators.
