Africa
Africa
Pre-trial detention
Access to legal rights
Justice
Material conditions
Alternatives
Maria Teresa Manuela is the Special Rapporteur on Prisons, Conditions of Detention and Policing in Africa. She shares insights into the African Commission’s efforts to uphold the rights of people deprived of their liberty.
Africa
Health
Material conditions
Protest
Violence
Nigeria
Shocking details have emerged from within the Jos Custodial Centre in Plateau State, revealing a disturbing pattern of neglect, abuse, and systemic deprivation being endured by incarcerated people at the facility.
Africa
Pre-trial detention
Women
Material conditions
Overcrowding
South Africa
Female and remand people in prison are enduring massive overcrowding at Cape Town’s Pollsmoor correctional facility, parliamentarians discovered during an oversight visit.
Africa
Health
Overcrowding
South Sudan
National Prison Service of South Sudan (NPSSS) and health officials in the Western Bahr el Ghazal State capital, Wau, have confirmed that one incarcerated person died of cholera and at least five are in critical condition after contracting the disease at Wau Central Prison.
Cameroon: still falling short
Interview
Africa
Access to legal rights
Justice
Death penalty
Cameroon
Access to justice is hindered. There is no mechanism to monitor prisons, and the death penalty remains part of the penal code. Action by Christians for the Abolition of Torture in Cameroon is campaigning on all these fronts.
Mutineers, rebels and objectors
Analysis
Inside Outside
Africa
North America
South America
Asia
Europe
Middle East
Protest
Prison Insider, represented by Clara Grisot, contributed twelve compositions to the book InsideOutside to articulate, in a few words, the current challenges of prison life. Eighth piece: rebellion.
Africa
Elderly prisoners
Health
Overcrowding
South Sudan
Health officials in Lakes State have reported cases of chickenpox and suspected measles at Rumbek Central Prison, with 24 infections identified among incarcerated people. State Health Director General said that two elderly were severely infected, while the rest were between 25 and 30 years old.
South Africa: seven officials from Mangaung prison suspended after murder of incarcerated person
News
Africa
Justice
Violence
Social ties
South Africa
Seven prison officials at the Mangaung Correctional Centre have been suspended following the murder of an imprisoned person. Mpho Mkhumbeni died on 12 March, following an unauthorised raid of his cell where he was pepper-sprayed and beaten the night before.
Tunisia: relentless harassment
Testimonial
Africa
Pre-trial detention
Women
Access to legal rights
Health
Material conditions
Violence
Social ties
Tunisia
Sonia Dahmani is a lawyer who has made the defence of women’s rights her personal crusade. She was violently arrested over a comment made during a media appearance, and immediately imprisoned. Her sister, Ramla, has become her voice. This is her account.
Caught in the spiral
Thematic paper
Africa
Pre-trial detention
Asia
Access to legal rights
Justice
Drugs
Alternatives
Rehabilitation
What are the human and social costs of the recourse to imprisonment? This series explores the experiences of various civil society organisations, formerly incarcerated people, researchers and policy makers challenging the criminalisation of poverty, status or activism.
Africa
Women
Material conditions
Overcrowding
Rehabilitation
Sudan
The authorities at Wau Central Prison said they released 31 incarcerated people, 4 men and 27 women, after a local company called Lukluk paid off their fines.
Africa
Material conditions
South Africa
The Department of Correctional Services has roped in nutrition experts to ensure that imprisoned people are fed a well-balanced meal.“These changes were carefully designed to align with dietary guidelines and ensure that the diverse dietary needs of the detained population are adequately met.”.
Women bearing the weight of the law
Analysis
Africa
North America
Central America and the Caribbean
South America
Women
Asia
Europe
LGBTQI
Oceania
Access to legal rights
Justice
Drugs
Death penalty
Violence
More and more women across the world are being imprisoned, mostly for minor, non-violent offences. What discriminatory and punitive logic is being applied? What is being done to fight back against it?
Africa
Crises
Women
Minors
Protest
Overcrowding
Violence
Congo - Kinshasa
At least 153 women are believed to have died and as many as 132 were said to have been burned to death as some 4,000 incarcerated men broke out of the Munzenze prison in Goma during an assault on the city by M23 forces.
Africa
Material conditions
Overcrowding
Activities
Work
Ghana
Speaking before Parliament’s Appointments Committee on Monday, February 25, 2025, Mr Terlabi described the current feeding arrangement, where incarcerated people receive GH¢1.80 worth of food per day as inadequate.
Africa
Foreign prisoners
Overcrowding
Social ties
Rehabilitation
Namibia
Individuals who serve their sentences in their home countries can be rehabilitated, resocialised and reintegrated into the community better than elsewhere. This was said by deputy minister of home affairs, immigration, safety and security Lucia Witbooi during a National Assembly session.
Africa
Pre-trial detention
Access to legal rights
Nigeria
The Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) says over 65 per cent of incarcerated people are currently awaiting trial in correctional centers across the country. Afam Osigwe, president of the NBA, revealed this at the national executive council meeting of the association in Akure.
Africa
Crises
Women
Violence
Congo - Kinshasa
Hundreds of women were raped and burned alive during the chaos after a Rwandan-backed rebel group entered the Congolese city of Goma. Women were attacked in their wing inside Goma’s Munzenze prison during a mass jailbreak, according to a senior UN official.