By Enyichukwu Enemanna
No fewer than 23 inmates were on Wednesday said to have escaped from the prison of Moroni, the capital of the Indian Ocean archipelago, in Comoros in circumstances that are yet to be ascertained, the public prosecutor’s office and the penitentiary administration has announced.
Six of the fleeing inmates have been re-arrested, AFP says
The 17 escapees who remain wanted have all been identified and an investigation has commenced to ascertain the circumstances of their escape, the public prosecutor, Ali Mohamed Djounaid, told reporters.
“What is certain is that the prisoners were able to escape without outside intervention,” he said.
According to the prison services, the inmates would have taken advantage of a transfer from the yard to their dormitories to take the powder but the modus operandi remains to be determined.
The prisoners complained of “too much promiscuity in the dormitories, of the lack of water”, which affects the whole archipelago, but also of “the irregularity of the food rations”, a member of the family of a prisoner told AFP on the telephone.
The Moroni prison was built in the 1960s to accommodate 80 people. It now holds some 340, according to the prison administration.
The prison is dilapidated and regularly faces protests demanding improved prison conditions.
Two years ago, more than 40 inmates escaped from Moroni prison as the entire country celebrated the national soccer team’s victory over Kenya.
Among them was Inssa Mohamed, known as Bobocha, who was accused of participating in an attempted assassination attempt against the head of state, Azali Assoumani.
He was found in Madagascar and extradited to Moroni less than two months after his spectacular escape.
