In Rwanda's Gitarama prison, one of the deadliest on the planet, incarcerated individuals face horrifying conditions, including sleeping near their own waste and resorting to cannibalism to stay alive.

Located on the outskirts of Kigali, Rwanda's capital, Gitarama prison was originally constructed in 1960 to house British workers. It was later repurposed as a prison, initially designed for around 400 inmates. Shockingly, this facility now crams up to 8,000 prisoners within its grimy, overcrowded walls.

The deplorable conditions force inmates to endure extreme overcrowding, far beyond its intended capacity of 1,300 to 3,000 people. At its peak, after the Rwandan genocide in the mid-1990s, the prison held nearly 50,000 inmates under dire circumstances, according to estimates.

History

In 1995, over 1,000 men lost their lives within these brutal confines. Even today, reports suggest that the stench of excrement and decomposing flesh can be detected up to a kilometer away. Tragically, a significant number of prisoners face the risk of death daily due to these wretched conditions. Furthermore, the absence of a sewage system means inmates must either dispose of their own waste or endure living in squalor.

Health conditions deteriorate daily within Gitarama prison, where gangs operate freely, committing heinous crimes against those who oppose them. Many inmates languish here, still awaiting trial.

Human rights organizations have protested these disgraceful conditions for decades to no avail. Only a single Swiss-based organization has worked to assist detainees awaiting trial for up to 16 years.

Lt. Col. Charles Kayonga, who commanded Gitarama in the mid-1990s, candidly acknowledged that some prisoners might be innocent: "The vast majority of those imprisoned are, of course, murderers, but there may be prisoners who have done nothing and have been awaiting trial for years."