Makamba : women in detention with their children in difficult prison conditions

According to sources at the Makamba prosecutor’s office, prison conditions of women detained in the dungeon of this prosecutor’s office are deplorable. Late inspections, bribes and the slow processing of files are at the origin of overcrowding.

INFO SOS Médias Burundi

20 women and 4 children have been detained in the dungeon of this prosecutor’s office for several weeks.

According to sources close to the prosecutor’s office, these women are detained in two cells in the dungeon of the district police station due to a lack of cells reserved for women in this dungeon.

“20 women, including 4 breastfeeding women, share two cells at a rate of 10 women and 2 infants per cell”.

Families of these women report that at night, they cannot all sleep at the same time and are forced to take turns to go to bed.

Sources close to the prosecution say that “this is due to delays in pre-judicial instructions, late inspections but also perpetrators of minor offenses who are not released because they do not give bribes demanded by the Makamba prosecutor Claver Sabushimike”.

Families of these detainees are asking that the alleged perpetrators of minor offenses be released and appear in court while free.

“Four of these women are detained for infanticide just after giving birth, others for minor offenses”, indicate sources close to the judicial police officers.

It should be noted that two people died in this dungeon during this year 2024.

The Makamba prosecutor was not available to respond to these allegations.

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The Makamba prosecution (SOS Médias Burundi)