A shortage of food supplies has been reported in several prisons across Burundi, particularly a shortage of beans. Inmates are raising the alarm over the deterioration of their food conditions.
According to testimonies collected from inmates at Mpimba Prison in Bujumbura, as well as prisons in Ngozi, Gitega, Muramvya, Ruyigi, and Murembwe in Rumonge, they have reportedly gone nearly two weeks without receiving beans, as the available supplies have run out. For several days, they say they have been receiving only flour, and in very insufficient quantities, while stocks of flour are also reportedly running low.
This situation is having serious consequences for the inmates’ nutritional well-being, leaving them facing particularly concerning levels of hunger. Even the small quantities of flour being distributed are reportedly insufficient to meet their basic nutritional needs.
In light of this situation, the inmates are issuing an urgent appeal for the necessary food supplies to be made available as quickly as possible in the affected prisons.
We call on the relevant authorities, particularly the Ministry of Justice, to take urgent measures to address this recurring food shortage in the country’s prisons. The repeated occurrence of such situations poses serious risks to the health and lives of inmates, especially given that they have very limited, if any, means of obtaining food for themselves.
It is essential that sustainable measures be taken to ensure that people deprived of their liberty have access to sufficient and regular food, in accordance with fundamental standards concerning human dignity and the rights of persons deprived of their liberty.