Photo of the week-Burundi : 217 inmates released in Ngozi to ease overcrowding in prisons

217 inmates, including 195 men, 19 women, and 3 underage girls, were released on Friday from the men’s and women’s prisons in Ngozi, in the north of the small east African nation. This exceptional measure is part of an operation aimed at reducing prison overcrowding, a recurring problem in several penitentiary facilities across the country.

According to the Attorney General, Rose Nkorerimana, the releases primarily concern elderly individuals and inmates serving short sentences.

“This operation aims to alleviate prison overcrowding and improve detention conditions,” she stated.

A call for reintegration and self-development

Addressing the recently released prisoners, the Attorney General urged them to avoid reoffending and to engage in self-development activities.

“We advise the released prisoners to go directly to self-development projects and avoid falling back into the same offenses,” she emphasized.

A central prison far beyond its capacity

Despite this release, the situation remains critical at the Ngozi Central Prison for men, which currently hosts more than 1,800 inmates in a facility designed for approximately 400. This overcrowding results in particularly difficult living conditions : chronic food shortages, insufficient beans and maize flour, and frequent water and electricity outages.

Due to overcrowding, some inmates are forced to sleep outdoors, while others are crammed into cells designed for five people but occupied by twenty or more prisoners.

Diseases proliferate behind bars

Overcrowding also fosters the spread of diseases, including skin conditions and epidemics such as cholera, according to prison sources. This situation poses serious health risks to prisoners.

A persistent national prison crisis

Beyond Ngozi, the problem is systemic. In Burundi, prisons have an official capacity estimated at 4,294 places, while the prison population regularly exceeds 12,000 inmates. In some facilities, the occupancy rate exceeds 300%, exacerbating detention conditions and internal tensions.

The civil society welcomes the move, but calls for reforms

Human rights civil society organizations welcome the release, but deem it insufficient given the scale of the problem.

“Releasing 217 prisoners is a positive step, but it’s only a temporary solution. As long as penal policies aren’t reformed, prisons will remain overcrowded,” says an official from a local organization in Ngozi.

Other actors advocate for alternatives to imprisonment, particularly for minor offenses.

“Abusive pretrial detention and short sentences contribute significantly to prison overcrowding. It is urgent to promote community service and penal mediation,” emphasizes a human rights activist.

Our photo : Attorney General Rose Nkorerimana hands over a release order to a prisoner, a symbol of the prison decongestion measure in Ngozi, on January 16, 2026 (DR/SOS Médias Burundi)