The Mbour Detention and Correctional Center (MAC) is facing a worrying overcrowding situation. Designed to hold 650 inmates, it currently houses 915, significantly exceeding its capacity. The Minister of Justice, Yacine Fall, visited the MAC on Thursday. She acknowledged the "structural overcrowding" and announced reforms.

The Minister of Justice was able to personally observe the conditions of detention. Accompanied by administrative and judicial authorities from the Thiès region, she also spoke with detainees and prison staff.

“I wanted to speak and talk directly with the people in detention and to meet with the prison administration. I consider these field visits to be an inherent requirement of my position. This visit allowed me to observe the conditions of detention that prevail in this remand prison. They remain marked, as in most of our prison establishments, by a situation of structural overcrowding,” she said.

The Minister of Justice attributed this situation to a decades-long lack of investment. She specifically pointed to an infrastructure project inherited from the previous regime, which had mobilized 75 billion CFA francs without yielding any tangible results.

“No one is unaware of the situation we inherited with this new government. Decades of underinvestment have left our prison system without adequate infrastructure. Not a single prison has been built since independence. Furthermore, an infrastructure project initiated under the previous regime has already swallowed up 75 billion CFA francs without producing the expected detention centers. This visit takes place in a context we cannot ignore. Recent events in some facilities have exposed structural weaknesses in our prison system,” she added.

Solutions to alleviate prison overcrowding

Faced with this crisis, Yacine Fall outlined several possible solutions. She announced the upcoming construction of a new prison in Mbour, in conjunction with the creation of a high court, in order to improve detention conditions and enhance judicial efficiency. Furthermore, she emphasized the need to develop alternatives to incarceration, particularly community service and sentence adjustments.

The minister also highlighted the digitalization of the justice system through the E-Justice platform, which will allow families to apply for online communication permits, thus facilitating contact between inmates and their loved ones. While commending the dedication of prison officers, she acknowledged the difficulty of their mission, carried out often in challenging conditions.

"The issue of detention conditions is not abstract. These are lives, and the State must answer for each of them," the minister insisted, reaffirming her commitment to making prisons spaces that guarantee dignity, security and rehabilitation.