Cracking Open the Gates of Ngaragba Prison
In Bangui, the capital of the Central African Republic, stands Ngaragba Central Prison. With 1,335 inmates crammed behind its walls—making up nearly 70% of the country’s prison population—it’s a tough, often chaotic place. Yet, something different has been happening here since Téné Maimouna Zoungrana from Burkina Faso took charge as Coordinator of Security Teams on the UN’s peacekeeping mission (MINUSCA).
Zoungrana leads a team of 42 officers, working alongside local corrections staff. Her priority? Teaching crisis management and incident response. Under her guidance, rapid intervention units now snap into action during unrest, and these hard-won skills became part of the prison system’s standard training. Before, escapes and violence were a constant threat. Now, both have dropped noticeably.
Tearing Down the Gender Wall
But it’s not just about stricter security. For years, female officers felt invisible in Central African prisons, stuck on the sidelines when real decisions were made. Zoungrana saw this and took action. She set up a women-only rapid intervention squad—something unheard of in this environment. Team members started managing tense situations head-on, showing fellow officers and prison management what happens when women take the lead.
This approach didn’t just improve safety—it set a new standard for gender equality inside a rigid, male-dominated system. More women officers now undergo specialized training, get promoted, and take on leadership roles. These changes are now woven into the national penitentiary curriculum. The conversation about who gets a seat at the corrections table has finally shifted.
Zoungrana’s leadership stands out not only in CAR but also on the international stage. When the United Nations handed her the Trailblazer Award in 2022, it was recognition for helping prison security reforms move away from militarized control and toward accountability, inclusion, and professional respect. For the women working inside Ngaragba’s walls—and for the men learning from them—the system will never quite be the same.