OVERCROWDING AND ABUSE OF PRETRIAL DETENTION: The Perspective of the Cameroon Human Rights Commission

The Cameroon Human Rights Commission is worried about the persistent problems related to prison overcrowding in the country’s correctional facilities. With an occupancy rate reaching 164.25%, the seventy-six (76) operational prisons in Cameroon, with a total capacity of twenty thousand nine hundred fifty-five (20,955) spaces, currently accommodate a total of thirty-four thousand four hundred nineteen (34,419) individuals. Among them, nineteen thousand one hundred nine (19,109) are pretrial detainees (55.52%) and fifteen thousand three hundred ten (15,310) are convicted prisoners (44.48%).

The slow processing of cases involving detainees in pretrial investigation, as well as the communication difficulties between the prosecution and the prisons, are major concerns for the Commission. These problems contribute to the lack of awareness among some detainees about the status of their judicial cases.

The Commission strongly condemns cases of abusive pretrial detention observed in several prisons, including the Ngaoundéré Central Prison, the Guider Main Prison, the Tcholliré Main Prison, and the Ntui Main Prison, since April 25, 2023. These actions only exacerbate the problem of prison overcrowding.

In this context, the Commission urgently recommends that the government raise awareness among the general population, as well as among detainees, in collaboration with human rights promotion and defense organizations. It is essential to inform individuals about the existence and effectiveness of the Compensation Commission in cases of abusive pretrial detention or unwarranted custody.

Raphaël Mforlem