Congo: At least 129 dead in prison break attempt

At least 129 people were killed in an attempted escape from the Congolese capital's largest prison, most of them in a mass panic, authorities said on Tuesday.

According to a preliminary assessment, 24 inmates were killed by warning shots as they tried to escape from the overcrowded Makala central prison in Kinshasa early Monday, Congolese Interior Minister Jacquemin Shabani said on the social platform X.

“In addition, 59 injured people were cared for by the government and several women were raped,” he said, adding that order had been restored in the prison, which was partially burned down in the attack.

Makala, Congo's largest prison with a capacity of 1,500 people, houses over 12,000 inmates, most of whom are awaiting trial, Amnesty International said in its latest country report. The facility has experienced previous prison breaks, including in 2017 when an attack by a religious sect resulted in dozens of inmates being released.

Local residents reported that the shootings in the prison began around midnight on Sunday into Monday morning. A senior government official had previously stated that only two deaths had been confirmed in the incident. Human rights activists doubt this number.

Videos apparently from inside the prison showed bodies lying on the ground, many with visible injuries. Another video showed inmates carrying what appeared to be dead people into a vehicle.

There were no signs of a violent break-in at the prison, which is located in the city center, five kilometers from the presidential palace.

The escape attempt was planned by inmates in one wing of the prison, Deputy Justice Minister Mbemba Kabuya told local radio station Top Congo FM.

In the hours following the attack, the road to the prison was closed while authorities set up a commission to investigate the incident.

Makala, like other prisons in Congo, is so overcrowded that people often starve to death, activists say. In an effort to decongest the prisons, many inmates have been released this year.

Justice Minister Constant Mutamba described the attack as a “deliberate act of sabotage,” adding that those who “incited these acts of sabotage will face severe consequences.”

He also announced a ban on the transfer of inmates from the prison and said authorities would build a new prison, among other measures to reduce overcrowding.