On Tuesday, April 28, 2026, MONUSCO donated five fire extinguishers and seventeen bags of cement to Bunia Central Prison as part of support aimed at strengthening the facility’s security and improving detention conditions, particularly in the women’s section.
This assistance, provided by MONUSCO’s Northern Sector contingents in collaboration with the Mission’s Prison Administration Support Unit, comes in a context of prison overcrowding.
To date, Bunia Central Prison houses 2,138 inmates, including 52 women and 48 minors, despite having an estimated capacity of only 500 places. This situation increases challenges related to security, hygiene, and infrastructure.
The fire extinguishers will help improve the prison’s ability to respond to fire hazards, while the cement will be used to pave the courtyard of the women’s section, which is often flooded with mud during the rainy season.
The women’s section had already been built with MONUSCO’s support in 2018. For several years, the Mission has been supporting prison authorities in Ituri through training programs, logistical assistance, and initiatives aimed at improving prison management and detainees’ living conditions.
According to Camille Zonzi, Director of Bunia Central Prison, this support addresses urgent and concrete needs within the facility.
The first need concerns the detention conditions of women. Currently, we have 52 women in detention as well as six babies living with their mothers. There is an area that needs paving because when it rains, the courtyard becomes very muddy. Engineers assessed the area and identified the needs. The second need is preventive. If there is a fire, we must be able to respond quickly. That is why MONUSCO, through its contingents and its Prison Administration Support Unit, has provided us with assistance
On this occasion, the peacekeepers also organized a practical demonstration on the use of fire extinguishers in order to strengthen staff response capacity in the event of a fire within the facility. After a short training session, prison staff were able to practice safety procedures and successfully handle the equipment under the supervision of MONUSCO teams.
As for the improvement works, they will be carried out with the participation of inmates under the supervision of MONUSCO engineers. This approach also aims to provide practical skills useful for social reintegration.
Through its Prison Administration Support Unit, MONUSCO regularly assists Congolese authorities in improving detention conditions with regard to human dignity, the protection of persons deprived of liberty, and respect for the fundamental rights of detainees, particularly women and minors.
A few weeks earlier, MONUSCO had already organized free medical consultations for around fifty female inmates at Bunia Central Prison, distributed medicines and sanitary pads, and conducted awareness sessions on good hygiene practices in collaboration with the prison’s medical staff.
Didier Vignon Dossou-Gbakon
