“I was in prison and you visited me”
Menchum Legends, a common initiative group, demonstrated solidarity to inmates at the Yaounde Central Prison on Wednesday December 21, 2022. It was in part, a gesture to celebrate Christmas with inmates and to fulfill the words of Christ “I was in prison and you visited me.”
Over five thousand persons are jailed at the Yaounde Central Prison with twenty six of them from Menchum origin.
Members of Menchum Legends showed a solidarity gesture to the twenty six of their Division with gifts of soap, detergent, seasoning cubes, rice, salt, toilet paper, cassava flour, spaghetti and salt.
In an interview granted to Cameroon Infotrend, Ngwoh Ewdine Nkum, president of Menchum Legends revealed the purpose of the visit.
“We have been touched by the situation of our fellow youths of Menchum Division who are in prison. Although our Common initiative group is not a year old, we created it with a lot of promises to the people of Menchum and the people of the entire Cameroon. So we visited the youths in prison to tell them that we the people of Menchum are thinking about them and we would do more than what we have done today. We just came to see them and to share in the condition they are going through”
Photo: members of menchum legend
Members of Menchum Legends further told Cameroon Infotrend that the time spent at the prison enabled them to listen to the plight of the inmates.
“one of the inmates said he stayed in detention for three years before being sentenced to eighteen months in prison, though the three year period of detention was not counted as part of the eighteen months prison sentence when judgement was passed. So having shared in their problems, I will articulate these things with other groups where I work to see how I can help” Don Wai, a member of Menchum Legend said.
Menchum Legends further revealed that prisoners complained of sleeping outside because the prison is full above capacity. They also complained that feeding is poor.
Prison authorities revealed that the prison currently has five thousand four hundred and ninety two persons locked up at the Yaounde Central Prison though it was constructed to host one thousand nine hundred persons.
By Mildred Ndum Wung Kum