each had been constructed. The first building had two rooms each with three iron beds, and the third room had two similar beds. All the beds, had mattresses on them. The building also has a veranda. The first of the three rooms in the second building had three beds. The two buildings, I was informed by the Director, have the capacity to accommodate 24 inmates; and they were spacious enough to have that number without creating congestion. At the time of the visit, there were 9 inmates, discharges having reduced a figure of 15 to the former. A third building for guards was near completion. A football had also been provided for the inmates; and so had a television each for the inmates and guards. The farm has also been supplied with a motorbike. It was envisaged that a new structure to serve as a recreational facility would be constructed in place of the original cell block. It was promising to learn that one of the inmates took part in the construction work so that he would acquire skills as a mason. He was paid, I was informed, CFA 750 a day by the mason. The bricks were also made by the inmates. The farm produce yielded 39 bags of millet and some unbagged quantity. 4 bags of the millet were given to the men who helped in the threshing and one bag to a woman who played a similar role. The farm also yielded 7 bags of beans, but the yield from the maize, was disappointing. Of the 200 mangoes planted, very few did well because of poor rainfall. As regards livestock, there were 32 sheep, 19 cows and 6 goats. In a private discussion with the inmates, one of them being overjoyed to see me again, complaints were made about the quality of their food. While they enjoyed fresh milk, they hankered for more, and, like Oliver Twist, asking for more, they wanted boots and shoes to play football. On this last point, I could not restrain my impatience, and told them that they could enjoy the game without boots and socks, adding that my friends, mates and I alike played football in our youth without boots. But I did not so readily dismiss their complaints about lack of medicine, soap and kerosene for their lamps. They also needed seeds to plant on the farms, and implements with which to work. The National Director and Chief Guard of the Farm explained that the produce of the labour of the inmates was divided into three as follows: - One-third for inmates' food; - One-third for sale, and - One-third to cover cost of production. When Mr. Sidibe dropped us at our hotel from Baguineda Prison Farm it was 7.20 p.m. 18 Mopti Prison? - Tuesday 1 December Before Mopti prison is revisited, we present summaries of meetings with: (i) Mr. Seydou T. Camara, Adviser for Judicial and Administrative Affairs to the Governor of Mopti and (ii) Mr. Tamba Namory Keita, Republic Prosecutor at Grade I Tribunal, Mopti. Mr. Camara assumed duty in Mopti three months before my visit. He welcomed me heartily to Mopti and offered to extend to me all the help at his disposal. He used to be the Commandant de Cercle in Bankas. By his account, the governor visited the prison two months before my arrival in the company of the Minister of Justice. The governor paid a second visit to assess the extent of renovation that can be carried out, the prison being in a bad state of disrepair. Improvement in prison conditions, Mr. Camara stressed, was a major preoccupation of both the Ministry of Justice in Bamako and the regional administration in Mopti. A decision has been taken to renovate all regional prisons. Work has already started at the prison in Gao. On the part of Mr. Tamba Namory Keita, he stated that he was the regional head of justice, representing the Minister of Justice. The prison, police and gendarmerie are all under him. He worked on a daily basis with the Registrar and regularly went to the prison. There are eight prisons within the Mopti region. He confirmed the visit of the minister, who concluded after assessing the condition of the building that the prison should be renovated. Funds had been secured for the work, and a private company contracted to carry out the renovation. Indeed, the company started work a week prior to my visit. Mr. Keita added that the National Guard used to be in charge of prisons, but they had no formal training in prison work. In November, 1997 trained guards started to man Mopti prison. Among the guards were 14 who had received training in Dakar, and they are now Registrars of prison. The Prison As was done in the case of Bamako Central Prison and Beguineda Prison Farm, the problems identified on my first visit8 are first stated, and are 7.See Prisons In Mali, report on a mission to Mali on 20 - 30 August 1997, pp. 27-29 8.Ibid. 19