Food price hikes mean hungrier, angrier prisoners

Food price hikes that sparked deadly riots in Cameroon earlier this year have severely cut meals for prisoners, and officials fear a revolt.



“We fear an uprising if the prisoners’ food situation gets worse,” said Joseph Tsala Amougou, manager of the central prison in the commercial capital Douala.



“We are having an increasingly difficult time providing two meals per day to the prisoners,” he said, pointing to high food prices.



Prisoners have generally received cooked vegetables at mid-day and rice in the evening. Prices of foods used at the prison have risen sharply since the beginning of the year. The cost of a 50-kg sack of rice has risen by nearly 40 percent to the equivalent of about US$50.



Currently women and minors are given priority for receiving two meals while the rest of the inmates often receive just one.



The food budget for Douala central prison - which amounts to about 50 US cents per day per prisoner - has not changed in nearly two years, according to Amougou, who said the budget must be at least doubled to cover price hikes.



“Even before the food price rises, the daily food ration was insufficient,” he said.

...We fear an uprising if the prisoners' food situation gets worse...

Families have long supplemented the daily rations for some prisoners but many families told IRIN the amount of food they are able to provide is shrinking.



“Some days I am forced to bring [my son] just some bread,” said Marcelline, whose 17-year-old son has been in Douala prison nine months.



Marie, a teacher in Doula, told IRIN: “Before, I made a meal with 2,000 CFA francs ($4), but now I can’t even make the same meal for 3,000 CFA francs.” Despite the financial strain on the family, Marie continues to bring food to the prison each day. “It’s quite difficult, but it’s the price to pay so my husband eats enough.”



Families know the prison food is insufficient and even prison officials count on what relatives can provide. “With these higher food prices we count a lot on families to help us,” Amougou told IRIN.



Government action



As part of a European Union prisoners’ rights programme in Cameroon, the government is planning to review its food budget for prisoners and adjust it so as to provide adequate rations, according to a government official who requested anonymity because he is not authorised to speak to the media.



Human rights groups have long criticised the Cameroonian authorities over prison conditions, including at Douala jail, which houses 2,868 people in facilities designed for some 700.



Cameroonian Justice Minister Amadou Ali on 24 November told parliament the government would allocate two billion CFA francs ($40 million) in 2009 to build new prisons throughout the country.



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