At least fifty civilian inmates from the Kangbayi prison in Beni (North Kivu) were seen on Wednesday, February 14, for various illnesses during a mass consultation conducted by doctors from different contingents of the MONUSCO peacekeepers. They also delivered a significant batch of medicines to the prison's infirmary.
Dressed all in yellow and blue, these sick detainees appeared before the doctors with a moribund attitude. Most have swollen legs, covered in scabies. One of the accused who has just spent two years in prison without being presented before a judge, worries about his health:
"My legs are all swollen and secreting a whitish fluid. It hurts a lot. I've just spent two years in prison but I've never been before a judge. I hope that the MONUSCO doctors who came to see us will help me".
Tanzanian officer Longinus Liwewa, a member of the MONUSCO medical team leading the consultations, states that malnutrition is one of the frequent pathologies among the consulted inmates.
Which was confirmed by Doctor Pontien Mukanirwa, the treating physician at Kangbayi prison:
"Malnutrition is rampant in the prison. There is also a problem with tuberculosis. The swelling of the legs shown by most of the sick, is notably due to malnutrition".
Aside from the lack of medicines, the prison dispensary faces several other difficulties, as Doctor Pontien explains:
MMC / RO