ACHPR/37/OS/11/437 18 Complaints mechanism According to inmates, the complaint mechanisms in almost all prisons and/or police stations and the gendarmerie are equally a source of inconvenience to the inmates by opening the door to: - Further reprisals from the prison wardens; - Loss of the limited freedom they have in the prison premises; - Exposure to intimidation by the wardens and by other inmates alike, etc; - Unwillingness on the part of the authorities to entertain the complaints in a timely and professional manner; - The letters or complaints being tored up. Relationship with staff and between prisoners In Cameroon, there is a separate training for prison wardens to equip them for the challenge in prisons works. Yet, per allegations of inmates at the various prisons, the reality on the ground remains wanting. In particular, there is a wide spread allegation of the following irregularities on the part of wardens: - Inmate beating or torture (New Bell); - Intimidation and verbal abuse (New Bell, Yaunde, Bamenda, Maroua, Garoua); - Denial of services (in all prisons); - Tribalism and/or favouritism (New Bell, Yaounde, Bamenda, Maroua, Garoua); and - Extortion (in all prisons); The number of prison staff compared to the over all prison population remains very low. The Special Rapporteur noted that even the prison wardens would be intimidated by the huge number of prisoners they have to guard given their comparably insignificant number. Congestion remain a constant problem which needs to be addressed by the overall judicial and/or administrative system.