Faith Nyasuguta
Days after the prison fire at the Gitega prison in Burundi, relatives of the victims are still in the dark about the remains of their loved ones. The fire was caused by a short circuit.
At the moment, a number of the families have already lifted their partial mourning.
An orphaned young man following the Gitega central prison fire said, “After the fire, we learned that our father was among the victims. We waited for the burial but in vain; and we organized the partial mourning in accordance with Burundian tradition“.
A number of families have submitted complaints that they are yet to be given access to the remains of the victims.
Some legal practitioners indicate that the government should have played a part in the funerals.
“These funerals should have been organized by the state. Failing that, at least the bodies should have been returned to their respective families so that they could organize the funerals themselves. So, I dare to hope that it is one or the other option, we are still waiting for that day to come,” an ex-prosecutor at the Gitonga prison, Tatien Sibomana said.
The house of correction holds a capacity of 400 inmates but it is reported to have housed over 1500 prisoners.
The ex-prosecutor raised an issue with overcrowding and proposed an alternative.
“Freedom is the principle and detention is the exception. This principle should be translated into the laws and regulations of Burundi. All those who are serving their sentences and who have already served a quarter of their sentences should be released if at least their files are in order in terms of discipline,” Sibomana said.
Official figures showed that 38 people died and 69 were wounded during the fire.
In August this year, another fire at the prison was put out. Authorities revealed that a short circuit had caused the fire and there were no casualties.
As of 26 November, Burundi’s eleven prisons held 12,878 prisoners for a capacity of 4,924, according to the prison administration.
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