Over 100 Dead in Mass Prison Escape Attempt in Kongo

Clashes with Guards... Fire, Looting, and Rape
188 Casualties... No Prisoners Escaped
EU "Investigate Promptly"

In a prison in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, prisoners attempted a mass escape, resulting in over 100 casualties.

Photo for illustrative purposes only and unrelated to the article content

On the 3rd (local time), the Associated Press reported that at around 2 a.m. the previous day, inmates at Makala Central Prison in the capital city of Kinshasa attempted a mass escape. According to the report, the inmates clashed with guards during the escape attempt, and fires broke out in various parts of the prison, including the food storage and medical facilities. Some areas of the prison were looted by the inmates. Ultimately, no one succeeded in escaping, with at least 129 inmates confirmed dead and 59 injured.

Jacques Mbanyi Lukwebo, the Minister of the Interior, explained, "The known casualties include 129 deaths, among which 24 people were shot dead after warnings." He added, "Others were pushed or trampled to death, and some women were raped." Residents near the prison reported hearing gunfire for several hours during the incident and later saw security personnel removing bodies from the scene. Videos showing dozens of bloodied bodies lying on the floor were also posted on social media.

The Makala Central Prison, where the incident occurred, was revealed to have poor conditions, housing inmates at eight times its capacity. A recent report by the international human rights organization Amnesty International stated that although the prison can accommodate only 1,500 people, it was holding 12,000 inmates. The British BBC also reported in 2020 that a prison official said, "This place is suffering from food shortages and poor sanitation, and people are dying." In response, the European Union called for a swift investigation to shed light on this tragic event and uncover the truth.

Meanwhile, prison escapes have been frequent in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. In 2017, about 50 inmates, including leaders of a particular religious sect, escaped from Makala Central Prison by taking advantage of an intrusion by the religious group. In 2020, around 1,000 inmates successfully escaped from a prison in the northeastern Beni region. At the time, there were allegations that the Islamic extremist armed group Islamic State (IS) was involved in the escape.