From our correspondent in Bafoussam, Emmanuel Jules Ntap

In Cameroon’s overcrowded prisons, many detainees remain locked up not for crimes they committed, but because they cannot afford court-imposed financial penalties known as contraintes par corps. This year, the Françoise Puene Freedom Foundation—a local NGO—stepped in to help 38 young inmates aged 16 to 28 regain their freedom by covering these debts.

This marks the eighth such intervention since 2014, offering both humanitarian relief and legal assistance to indigent detainees trapped in a cycle of poverty and incarceration.

« When we surveyed prisons nationwide, we found Bafoussam Central Prison particularly overwhelmed by young offenders—many just 17 or 18, with a few as young as 16 and others up to 28 », explains Françoise Puene, founder of the eponymous foundation.

Financial penalties like contraintes par corps disproportionately affect low-income individuals, worsening prison overcrowding—a chronic issue in Cameroon’s justice system.

« Our prisons are dangerously overcrowded. Many detainees can’t afford these penalties, so they remain behind bars even after serving their sentences », admits Adray Epente Tazeu, Secretary-General of the West Region’s governor services.

« I’m so relieved they paid for me », shares Efred Ngayeu, a former inmate who spent nine months incarcerated—three months longer than his original sentence—due to unpaid penalties.

Under Cameroon’s penal code, convicts must settle court-ordered fines or restitution before release. The 38 ex-detainees from Bafoussam had debts ranging from 40,000 to 150,000 Central African Francs (60 to 228 euros).