CONTENTS | ANB-BIA HOMEPAGE | WEEKLY NEWS
by Antoine Lawson, Gabon, August 1999
THEME = JUSTICE
Libreville's only prison has become far too small
and can no longer accommodate its 1,500 prisoners
living in cramped conditions - so much so,
that those who have been freed describe it
as a "hell" or a "mecca of torture"
Libreville Prison was built in 1956 to cater for 300 prisoners. Today, it accommodates five times more (1,500), in a building which has hardly changed over the years. Living accommodation is cramped, sanitation arrangements are "disastrous" - indeed, the whole set-up, especially the buildings, is in an advanced state of decrepitude - buildings included.
Lawyer Fabien Méré is a well-known Gabonese personality who is not afraid to adopt an uncompromising stand over issues he is concerned about. He says: "The authorities should not be astonished if Gabon is struck off the list of the countries classified as "trustworthy", for it does not satisfy human rights requirements in various sectors. And this, in spite of the attitude of Western observers and certain international organizations present in Gabon (UNDP, UNICEF, UNESCO, etc) who close their eyes to what's going on, feeling reluctant to implicate the relevant authorities".
Another lawyer who is a member of an organization for the defense of human rights and who wishes to remains anonymous, states the following: "Prisoners who are sometimes the victims of arbitrary arrest, are imprisoned in tiny cells; there's no attempt by prison staff to ensure their well-being and they don't have the right to choose or even be allowed to see a lawyer. In spite of all the talk about democracy, and in spite of appropriate legislation voted in by Members of Parliament and Senators, arrests are still arbitrary in Gabon. Many accused know in advance what the verdict will be as normal procedures are not followed in the courts". In Gabon, prison sentences are handed down hastily and the length of sentences goes far beyond Penal Code statutes."
At the time of the December 1998 presidential elections, people were hoping for change and renewal in the country's judicial system - their hopes remain largely unfulfilled. Most of the promises aimed at improving the legal system have not been kept. The proof?: Thousands of files remained piled high in the courts for several months - even years - without any judgement being handed down. François Ondo Nzé, the Supreme Court's attorney-general, has founded a quarterly publication entitled: "Today, the Law". He explains that the judge's task is no easy matter and writes that "everyone's rights must be protected, in particular those concerning the individual's physical and moral well-being". Education standards are high in Gabon, but most citizens seem ill-informed of their rights. Ondo Nzé is of the opinion that "no one can remain ignorant either of the law or the fact that all citizens are equal in the sight of the law. There are limits, however, to these well-known principles".
In Gabon, lawyers are only brought in during the preliminary investigation, following the first court appearance. Ondo Nzé says: "Everyone wants to see justice improve. Individuals' rights must be respected." But such is definitely not the case in Gabon's present judicial system. A journalist who was freed from prison, says that people imprisoned for political reasons or for common law offenses "are often tortured immediately after their arrest. Violence is carried out by both army and police".
For the first time, jail officials and a number of politicians admit the necessity of reforms in Gabon's penal system. Gaston Owono is a prison warder. He explains: "First warnings that something was wrong came when six prisoners died following a diarrhoea epidemic in 1996. It took several weeks to bring the outbreak under control, and the prison authorities had to take extreme measure in order to restore acceptable sanitary conditions. Kitchens, toilets, the infirmary and all soiled items were thoroughly fumigated. During the clean-up operation, about forty sick prisoners were sent to quarantine wards in Libreville's hospitals".
Libreville Prison is in downtown Libreville, and, according to a prison official has had to face up to a number of problems resulting from overcrowding and insufficient funding for running the prison. Likewise a general hostile attitude. A very few attorney-generals and penal experts in Gabon have condemned the harmful effects of prison overcrowding - the result of a repressive legal system; but the authorities seem as yet unwilling to do anything about it.
As a whole, Gabon's penal system is in a state of crisis. A prison official who prefers to remains anonymous says there's not enough food, especially in these times of economic crisis. A Red Cross worker puts it this way: "With the current economic crisis, there's an undeniable reduction in resources available to the penal system, with drastic consequences on both the prisoners' living conditions and on morale among prison staff". In an interview, he pleaded for "an alternative system based on non- custodial sentences, such as fines or community work. The African tradition of justice is based much more on reconciliation than on retribution".
Lawyer Michel Ndziba asks: "How is it possible in Africa, where our respective countries haven't got enough resources for their law-abiding citizens, to provide necessary funding for prisoners?" Also, there's communications problems between the judicial and penal systems in Gabon. One doesn't know what the other's doing. The judicial system supplies the prisons with "clients"; the prisons, on the other hand, are less and less prepared to accept new prisoners".
A number of prisoners in Libreville are sent out to do minor street repair and maintenance jobs. Some take advantage of the situation to get up to mischief while outside the prison. Raimy Hinson is a prison "godfather" and one of those prisoners sent out to work. The Criminal Investigation Department (CID) discovered that during the course of several months, he'd killed a number of people and stolen several million CFA francs. He declared on TV that he'd bought his way into doing outside jobs. A journalist from the daily L'Union is indignant about what's going on: "This situation makes us think that to be a prisoner in Gabon, means enjoying semi-freedom".
Not all the prisoners enjoy this privilege. Insecurity prevails both inside and outside the prisons. Jean François Koumba is a former prisoner. He says: "If I'm alive today, it is certainly thanks to God. Like many of my fellow-inmates, I could well have been carried off by epidemics because of the complete lack of medical care available. Another former prisoner of conscience who wants to remain anonymous, makes plain his feelings: "When you're thrown into prison in Libreville, it is generally so that you leave there dispossessed of everything. What price your health in such a place where criminals run the show? When you've got money, you're a prisoner only in name. In Libreville Central Prison, money solves everything. Those who've got nothing, suffer for it and that's nothing new."
Koumba continues: "Did you know that complaints were made following the prison deaths? The cells stink and sometimes the food is inedible. Some of the food is pretty well rotten, and you lose all appetite for food when you see your fellows-prisoners guzzling their's down because they've bribed the warders for better-quality food".
Former inmates interviewed say the prison was transformed gradually into a veritable market-place, with prison staff and a number of prisoners becoming well-established financially. For example, those serving life-sentences who have become the real prison bosses.
Barthélemy Ogoula was a prisoner male nurse. He describes the situation: ""Kapos" inside the prison are frequently major criminals in their own right. Apart from the fact that they're in charge of supplies, they also make sure new prisoners know exactly where they stand and what they are to do. They're cheek by jowl with the warders. The prisoner who isn't in cahoots with these Kapos hasn't much chance of surviving. In truth, the ordinary prisoners are slaves, nothing more, nothing less. I never would have believed that prisoners' rights could be violated in such a way".
Ebele Jacques, out on bail, testifies thus: "Many people are unaware that nearly 70% of prisoners' rations are systematically "diverted" by the Kapos, with the complicity of senior officers. Aloise Moussavou sends parcels to his brother who is in prison, but has found out that these parcels are frequently "diverted" to other people - his brother doesn't get them. He says: "The Kapos get their hands on large sums of money at the expense of the taxpayer. They couldn't care less that this money is intended to keep their fellow-prisoners alive - people who could turn over a new leaf if given half a chance.
At the end of our investigation, we learned that the Kapos had turned themselves into traders. Food which should be allocated to prisoners is sold. Tinned food is offered for sale by the jailors and their buddies at 200 CFA francs a tin; a kilo of fish and more rarely that of meat is around 600 CFA francs.
How has this practice grown up? Moussavou explains: "The cooks introduced bad food-hygiene conditions, obliging us to buy our own food from the warders and Kapos". Ebele continues: "The guards even have the audacity to try it on with prisoners' relatives, threatening to remove their right of access, finally obliging them to pay for entry to the prison. At worst, prisoners' wives are sometimes badgered sexually".
The authorities know what's going on. Recently, the Interior Minister, Antoine Mboumbou Miyakou, went to the prison to examine the situation. "No more prisoners on outside work", he ruled, then added: "From today, it's forbidden for prisoners to be on fatigue duty for senior officers. This long-time practice in our prisons does nothing to honour our country's image". But, in spite of the promises of the powers-that-be, no solution has as yet been found to improve prisoners' safety whilst in detention.
A first sight, one is tempted to believe that the prison warders do their work conscientiously. In reality, Libreville Prison has become a major underworld hub, kept going by crooks. I'm referring to a number of prisoners as well as the guards", explains Mba Roger, a former prisoner, who continues: "It's regrettable to note that the prison authorities are not able to keep accurate files on the exact number of prisoners in their charge, and details concerning prisoners' sentences and release dates. I can understand that some prisoners, especially those without any legal aid, are left to rot indefinitely in prison, sometimes without having been sentenced".
Corporal Moini Gaston who escorts the accused between court and prison, wonders: "How to explain that Mba Ntem, one of the worst criminals in Gabon, can be the prison chaplain, today?" Torture and trading continue to be widespread in the prisons and it seems that they are "officially tolerated there".
Gabon's authorities always take a long time to commit themselves into taking appropriate measures. They should be strengthening the fight against corruption in the public service, the judiciary and in the prison service if they really are serious about our country's development and about protecting civil rights, observes a clerk of the court.
END
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