Cameroon’s Minister of Communication Rene Emmanuel Sadi on Tuesday condemned violent protests that took place Monday night in the country’s largest prison commonly called Kondengui Central Prison located in the capital, Yaounde, vowing that effective investigation will be made to bring out the truth behind the riots.
Sadi said in a statement released Tuesday evening that there were linkages and incitement behind the riots that were initially organized by detainees from the two Anglophone regions of Northwest and Southwest to demand better prison conditions.
“These insurgents were joined by other inmates who had come to profit from the situation… Thus, in a well-planned approach, they began to spread panic within the penitentiary institution.” Sadi said.
The riots caused “important material damage”, the statement added.
“It is important to note that no human life was lost… However because of the vandalism perpetrated by the insurgents, two prisoners were injured and were immediately transported to a hospital for medical attention,” Sadi said.
One hundred and seventy-seven prisoners identified as leaders of the riots are being grilled by the police and gendarmerie, according to Sadi.
Kondengui Central Prison, constructed in 1967, is a maximum-security prison that hosts senior government officials found guilty of corruption, armed separatists arrested on the war front in the Anglophone regions and Boko Haram rebels captured by the army.
