Kondengui Central Prison is a maximum security

prison A prison, also known as a jail, gaol (dated, standard English, Australian, and historically in Canada), penitentiary (American English and Canadian English), detention center (or detention centre outside the US), correction center, correc ...

Yaoundé Yaoundé (; , ) is the capital of Cameroon and, with a population of more than 2.8 million, the second-largest city in the country after the port city Douala. It lies in the Centre Region of the nation at an elevation of about 750 metres (2,50 ...

Cameroon Cameroon (; french: Cameroun, ff, Kamerun), officially the Republic of Cameroon (french: République du Cameroun, links=no), is a country in west- central Africa. It is bordered by Nigeria to the west and north; Chad to the northeast; th ...

. It has been the subject of numerous international criticisms for its overcrowding and poor conditions. Kondengui was constructed in 1967 and was originally built to house 1,500 inmates. The facility has 16 toilets and 400 beds. In 2002, prisoners were fed one meal a day and given 4.4 ounces of soap every six months. In 2003, the

US Department of State The United States Department of State (DOS), or State Department, is an executive department of the U.S. federal government responsible for the country's foreign policy and relations. Equivalent to the ministry of foreign affairs of other nati ...

issued a "scathing" report on Cameroonian prisons in which it noted that Kondengui was severely overcrowded, housing a population of 9,530 in space meant for 2,000. In 2011, Amnesty International described the prison conditions to be "harsh, with inmates suffering overcrowding, poor sanitation and inadequate food. Prison guards are poorly trained, ill-equipped and their numbers inadequate for a big prison population."

Notable current and past prisoners

Albert Womah Mukong Albert may refer to: Companies * Albert (supermarket), a supermarket chain in the Czech Republic * Albert Heijn, a supermarket chain in the Netherlands * Albert Market, a street market in The Gambia * Albert Productions, a record label * Albert ...

, a bookstore owner and pro-independence activist who wrote ''Prisoner Without a Crime'' based on his six years in prison during the 1970s and later became the head of Human Rights Defence Group, was imprisoned in Kondengui Central Prison in 2001 for his position on the self-determination of English speakers.Moorehead, Caroline. "Prisoner of Conscience: Activist jailed over interview: Albert Mukong", ''The Independent'', 27 March 1989. *

Garga Haman Adji Garga Haman Adji (born 27 January 1944Information on the First ''Ar ...

, politician, later Minister of Civil Service.Kini Nsom
"GARGA HAMAN ADJI: Hunting Embezzlers"
''The Post'' (Cameroon), 8 October 2004. *

Issa Tchiroma Bakary Issa Tchiroma Bakary (born 10 September 1949) is a Cameroonian politician who served in the government of Cameroon as Minister of Transport from 1992 to 1996 and has been Minister of Communication since 2009. He is the President of the Front for ...

, politician, later Minister of Communication.Xavier Messè
"Issa Tchiroma Bakary : Je n'ai pas de rancune"
, ''Mutations'', 6 April 2009 . * Mancho Bibixy Tse, A local radio journalist and history teacher that sparked the

Coffin Revolution A coffin is a Funeral, funerary box used for viewing or keeping a corpse, either for burial or cremation. Sometimes referred to as a casket, any box in which the dead are buried is a coffin, and while a casket was originally regarded as a box ...

of 2016 denouncing the human rights violations of

Anglophone Cameroonian Anglophone Cameroonians are the people of various cultural backgrounds, most of who hail from the English-speaking regions of Cameroon (Northwest and Southwest Regions). These regions were formerly known as the British Southern Cameroons, being p ...

population. He is currently a prisoner. *

Jean-Claude Roger Mbede Jean-Claude Roger Mbede (died 10 January 2014) was a Cameroonian man who was sentenced to three years' imprisonment on charges of homosexuality and attempted homosexuality. His sentence was protested by international human rights organizations i ...

, imprisoned for

homosexuality Homosexuality is romantic attraction, sexual attraction, or sexual behavior between members of the same sex or gender. As a sexual orientation, homosexuality is "an enduring pattern of emotional, romantic, and/or sexual attractions" to pe ...

and named a prisoner of conscience by Amnesty International. *

Enoh Meyomesse Eyong Tarkang Enoh (born 23 March 1986) is a Cameroonian former professional footballer who last played as a midfielder for Olympiakos Nicosia in the Cypriot First Division and for the Cameroon national team. During the span of his career, Eno ...

, dissident poet and presidential candidate imprisoned on widely disputed theft charges. Amnesty International, which does not have a permanent office in Cameroon, had named Meyomesse a prisoner of conscience. On April 16, 2015, after 40 months and 15 days in custody since his arrest on November 22, 2011, Enoh Meyomesse was finally declared not guilty and sprung from Kondengui Central Prison. *

Germain Cyrille Ngota Ngota Germain Cyrille Ngota Ngota (also known as Bibi Ngota; died 22 April 2010), a Cameroonian, worked as an editor for the Cameroun Express in Yaoundé, Cameroon. He was the first journalist to die in the line of duty in Cameroon since 1992.Committ ...

, journalist whose arrest and death while in detention were protested by

Reporters Without Borders Reporters Without Borders (RWB; french: Reporters sans frontières; RSF) is an international non-profit and non-governmental organization with the stated aim of safeguarding the right to freedom of information. It describes its advocacy as found ...

Reporters Without Borders. 2010. “Sick Journalist Dies in Prison.” Retrieved September 20, 201

and the

Committee to Protect Journalists The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) is an American independent non-profit, non-governmental organization, based in New York City, New York, with correspondents around the world. CPJ promotes press freedom and defends the rights of journ ...

. TSI CONRAD is a political prisoner of Conscience arrested on the 8 December 2016 in Bamenda, Cameroon which is now arms conflict

In popular culture

Makossa Makossa is a Cameroonian style of urban music. Like much other late 20th century music of Sub-Saharan Africa, it uses strong electric bass rhythms and prominent brass. In the 1980s makossa had a wave of mainstream success across Africa and to a ...

singer

Lapiro de Mbanga Lambo Sandjo Pierre Roger (7 April 1957 – 16 March 2014), better known as Lapiro de Mbanga, was a Cameroonian singer who is noted for his 1985 recording of "Pas argent no love" and for being imprisoned in 2008 after criticising Cameroon presid ...

referenced the prison in a popular 2007 anti-corruption song, with lyrics including "Send them to Kondengui Prison. Everybody to Kondengui. ministers, directors send them to Kondengui".

References

{{coord missing, Cameroon Prisons in Cameroon Yaoundé