At approximately 04:00

CAT The cat (''Felis catus''), also referred to as the domestic cat or house cat, is a small domesticated carnivorous mammal. It is the only domesticated species of the family Felidae. Advances in archaeology and genetics have shown that the ...

on 7 December 2021, a fire broke out in an overcrowded prison in

Gitega Gitega (), formerly Kitega, is the political capital of Burundi. Located in the centre of the country, in the Burundian central plateau roughly east of Bujumbura, the largest city and former political capital, Gitega is the country's fourth la ...

Burundi Burundi, officially the Republic of Burundi, is a landlocked country in East Africa. It is located in the Great Rift Valley at the junction between the African Great Lakes region and Southeast Africa, with a population of over 14 million peop ...

, killing at least 38 and injuring more than 69.

Background

Overcrowding Overcrowding or crowding is the condition where more people are located within a given space than is considered tolerable from a safety and health perspective. Safety and health perspectives depend on current environments and on local cultural ...

is a major problem in Burundi prisons where, according to October figures, 13,100 inmates live in facilities designed to accommodate no more than 4,100 people. In June, over 5000 inmates received presidential pardons in an attempt to empty the country's overcrowded jails. According to the Christian Association Against Torture, the prison had the capacity for 400 prisoners, but at the time of the fire it held 1,539 inmates. Most of the inmates were males, however, it had a women's wing as well. It also housed several political prisoners in a high security compound. Earlier in August, a fire broke out in the same prison, which the authorities blamed on electrical problems.

Accident

The blaze started at 04:00

time (02:00 GMT) on 7 December 2021 while many of the inmates were asleep. The Interior Ministry stated in a tweet that a short circuit was responsible for the fire. According to the survivors, the police refused to open the quarters as the flames spread. According to one of the inmates, over 90% of the sleeping halls were burnt. Images circulating online showed a burning building and piles of bodies. A police source stated that emergency services arrived late with the fire truck reaching the prison two hours after the fire began. Nurses from the Gitega hospital, as well as teams from the

Red Cross The organized International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement is a Humanitarianism, humanitarian movement with approximately 16million volunteering, volunteers, members, and staff worldwide. It was founded to protect human life and health, to ...

, arrived at the scene to tend to the victims. Those with minor injuries were treated at the scene, while those with severe burns were taken to a hospital.

Vice President A vice president or vice-president, also director in British English, is an officer in government or business who is below the president (chief executive officer) in rank. It can also refer to executive vice presidents, signifying that the vi ...

Prosper Bazombanza Prosper Bazombanza (born 12 February 1960) is a Burundian politician serving as Vice President of Burundi since 23 June 2020. He was appointed to the position by newly elected president Évariste Ndayishimiye. Bazombanza was born on 12 February ...

told reporters that 38 people died in the fire. Of these, twelve died of

asphyxia Asphyxia or asphyxiation is a condition of deficient supply of oxygen to the body which arises from abnormal breathing. Asphyxia causes generalized hypoxia, which affects all the tissues and organs, some more rapidly than others. There are m ...

as they attempted to flee the burning building and 26 more died of severe injuries. Many of the victims were elderly inmates. He added that at least 69 were injured.

Aftermath

Vice President Bazombanza, along with several senior ministers visited the scene of the accident. According to witness reports, soldiers and police officers surrounded the site of the fire, preventing journalists from approaching and taking pictures.

References

{{Reflist 2021 fires in Africa 2021 in Burundi December 2021 in Africa Disasters in Burundi Prison fire Prison fires Prisons in Africa

Background

Accident

Aftermath

See also

References