ENAP Buea

207 Warders, prison administrators graduate
By Franklin Muabe and Asong Junior (UB INTERNS) 

Secretary of State, Doh Jerome (R) & SW Governor-Okalia Bilai place epaulettes on graduating Students

 

 

The Buea National School of Penitentiary Administration (ENAP) has graduated its 9th batch of Warders and 2nd batch of Penitentiaries with the call on them to respect basic human rights while disciplining inmates. The 207 trainees were ending a 12 months intensive training they started in 2014.
    Chaired by the Secretary of State in the Ministry of Justice in charge of Penitentiary Administration, Doh Jerome Penbarga, the ENAP graduation last September 21, 2015 was pregnant with lessons from the Minister.
    Jerome Penbarga called on the graduating students to treat inmates in the country’s over-crowded prisons with care, while respecting their basic human rights. Drawing from Amnesty International’s recent report blaming the Cameroon army of violating basic human rights, he insisted these graduates show mercy with the inmates adding that they were already lampooning in the terrible prison conditions of the country.
    ENAP Buea was graduating the 9th batch of warders and wardresses-207 in number, 6th batch of 10 student administrators of prisons, 25 superintendents of prisons, 20 generalist- 5 of whom were from the Ministry of Defense, 6 trainee administrators, 2 specialists, 1 civil engineer, 1 psychopathologist; the 1st batch of 5 superintendents of prisons and 10 State registered Nurses.

    While congratulating the graduates, Patrick Ekema- Mayor of Buea Council seized the occasion to address the overcrowded nature prisons in the country, Buea being a good example. He in the same vein urged Government to seek fast and lasting solutions to the issue if at all they had plans of respecting the human rights of the inmates.
    The Director of ENAP Buea, Fonkem Emmaculate revealed four of the 211 candidates who enrolled for the one-year intensive training Programme as warders abandoned the program for reasons unknown to the school. She called on them to be good examples to the others already in the field by putting into practice all the skills the school had blessed them with.
    The Median gathered that of the 10 student Administrator of Prisons, Penyi Esona Sophie was best student. Abwem Amere Justin was best student Superintendent of prisons of the 20 the school was graduating. Of the five students from the Ministry of Defense, Tchoukpe Jonas was best.
    Of the 2nd batch of State-Registered Nurses, Sady Sikwa was most outstanding; while Epour Awumbe James was best Social Worker. According to the Deputy Chief of Service for Studies at ENAP Buea, 6 warders did not make it in the final examination; meanwhile, Frida Namondo Ngale graduated overall best of the 207 grandaunts. Epaulet awards were later mounted on the grandaunts by military personals present.
    Doh Jerome in an interview told this newspaper government longs to see the fresh graduates join the staff in the field implement the new vision of Penitentiary of the country which he decried was challenged by persistent security traits in the country’s Northern Regions.
    The Secretary of State at the Ministry of Defense also revealed prisons will soon undergo reconstruction, employment of more staff and that overcrowded prisons will soon be a thing of the past.
    Also present at the graduation ceremony was South West Governor-Bernard Okalia Bilia, the Regional Chief of Service of Penitentiary Administration, UB’s Vice Chancellor-Prof. Nalova Lyonga, the DO of Buea-Paul Wokam Kouam, the SDO of Fako-Zang III, the Nigerian Consul General for the South West and North West Regions, the President of the South West Court of Appeal; the Commander of the Tenth Military Region in Buea, and a host of others.