Uses and imaginaries of prison in Guinea
Abstract
uinea is characterized by a low incarceration rate of 38 prisoners per 100,000 inhabitants (World Prison Brief, 2024)[1] and by the importance of alternative dispute resolution. Nevertheless, prison occupies an important place in the history of this country. Since its establishment in Guinea, the authorities have mobilized it as a political tool that manifests violence and arbitrariness. It also plays an economic role by putting prisoners to work in the colonial era and then by extorting new prisoners within its walls. In addition, the prison produces a stain that requires the released prisoner to perform a purification ritual. Based on colonial archives preserved in the National Archives of Guinea and on an ethnography of the current prison system, we discuss continuities and ruptures in the use of prisons in Guinea as well as in the production of its imaginaries. In doing so, we contribute to the integration of prison issues on the African continent into the global debate on confinement.
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