By Ebi Kesiena
At least 129 people have died in an attempted jailbreak at the Makala Central Prison in Kinshasa, the capital of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), authorities said on Tuesday.
The deaths were largely due to a stampede, while 24 inmates were shot dead by warning gunfire as they tried to escape from the overcrowded prison, the country’s Interior Minister Jacquemin Shabani stated on social media platform X.
The minister also reported that 59 people were injured in the incident, which included cases of sexual assault against women. “Order has been restored at the prison, part of which was burned in the attack,” Shabani said.
Makala Central Prison, the largest penitentiary in Congo, is designed to hold 1,500 inmates but currently houses over 12,000, most of whom are awaiting trial, according to Amnesty International. The prison has seen previous escape attempts, including a major jailbreak in 2017.
Eyewitness accounts from nearby residents reported hearing gunfire inside the prison around midnight, continuing into the early hours of Monday. Initial government statements put the death toll at just two, a figure that rights activists have since disputed.
Videos circulating online, purportedly from inside the prison, show bodies lying on the ground, many with visible injuries. Other footage shows inmates carrying what appeared to be deceased individuals into a vehicle.
Authorities said there were no signs of forced entry into the prison, which is located in the city center, about 5 kilometers (3 miles) from the presidential palace. According to Mbemba Kabuya, the Deputy Justice Minister, the attempted escape was orchestrated from within one of the prison’s wings.
Following the incident, roads leading to the prison were cordoned off, and a government panel was convened to investigate the events.
The situation has highlighted the severe overcrowding at Makala and other prisons in the DRC, where activists claim that conditions are so dire that deaths from starvation are common. In an attempt to reduce overcrowding, authorities have released dozens of inmates this year.
Justice Minister Constant Mutamba described the attack as a “premeditated act of sabotage,” warning that those responsible “will receive a stern response.” He also announced a ban on transferring inmates from the facility and plans to build a new prison to alleviate the overcrowding crisis.
