129 dead in attempted escape from Congo prison

• 59 injured people were taken into government care and in some cases women were raped.
• Emmanuel Adu Cole, a prisoner rights activist, said more than 200 people died in the attack, many of them shot.
• The facility, which houses both male and female inmates, currently holds more than 12,000 inmates.

Authorities reported Tuesday that an attempted escape at Congo’s main prison has left 129 people dead. Some victims were shot by guards and soldiers, while others died in a stampede at the overcrowded facility. A prominent activist said the death toll exceeded 200.

Congolese Interior Minister Jacquemin Shabani told X that a provisional report showed that 24 inmates had been fatally shot by guards firing “warning” shots as they tried to escape from Makala central prison in the capital Kinshasa early Monday.

“There are also 59 injured people being treated by the government, as well as some cases of women who were raped,” he said, adding that order had been restored in the prison, part of which was set on fire during the escape attempt.

Shabani did not provide details on the rape cases reported at the prison, which houses male and female inmates as well as accused military personnel. It is unclear whether all 129 people killed were female inmates, and authorities have not explained how the stampede occurred.

However, Emmanuel Adu Cole, a prominent rights activist in Congo’s prisons, told The Associated Press that he counted more than 200 dead in the attack, many of them shot. He relied on videos shared from the prison and conversations with inmates. The AP could not independently verify those videos.

Inmates were increasingly frustrated by poor conditions, including a lack of beds, poor food and poor sanitation. Despite warnings, authorities failed to act, according to Cole, president of the local Bill Clinton Peace Foundation, who has previously visited the prison.

Amnesty International’s latest report indicates that Makala, Congo’s largest penitentiary with a capacity of 1,500 people, currently houses more than 12,000 inmates, most of whom are awaiting trial.

The facility has had previous escapes, including in 2017, when members of a religious sect stormed the prison and freed dozens of inmates. Stanis Bujakera Tshiamala, a prominent Congolese journalist who was recently held there for months, described the conditions as “deplorable and inhumane.” He noted that inmates often lack food, water, and medical care. The prisoners include nearly 700 women and hundreds of minors, who are “treated in the same way as adults,” he noted.

“Makala is a real chaos (and) every day is a battle for life,” Tshiamala said.

Gunfire broke out inside the prison around midnight on Sunday and continued into Monday morning, local residents said. Stephane Matondo, who lives nearby, said: “The gunshots were coming from everywhere.” He added that military vehicles arrived shortly after and blocked the main road leading to the prison.

Videos posted online show bodies lying on the ground inside the prison, many with visible injuries. Another video shows inmates carrying what appear to be dead bodies and loading them into a vehicle.

Authorities found no signs of forced entry into the prison, located in the city center, 5 kilometers from the presidential palace.

Deputy Justice Minister Mbemba Kabuya told local radio station Top Congo FM that the escape attempt was planned from inside the prison by inmates in one of the wings.

In the hours after the attack, officials visited the prison as authorities convened a commission of inquiry into the incident. Congolese President Felix Tshisekedi, currently on an official visit to China, has not commented publicly.

Human rights groups and the opposition have called for an independent investigation, accusing the government of using excessive force and covering up the true death toll. Earlier on Monday, a senior government official said only two people had died.

Martin Fayulu, an opposition leader, compared the death toll to “summary executions” and said it was an “unacceptable crime that cannot go unpunished.”

According to activists, Makala prison, like other prisons in Congo, is so overcrowded that inmates often starve to death. In recent months, dozens of prisoners have been released as part of efforts to reduce the prison population.

Justice Minister Constant Mutamba called the escape attempt a “premeditated act of sabotage” and promised a “severe response.” His deputy, Samuel Mbemba Kabuya, blamed the prison overcrowding on the country’s magistrates and judges, who quickly jail individuals at the early stages of their trials.

Mutamba announced a ban on the transfer of Makala detainees and promised that authorities would build a new prison, among other measures to reduce overcrowding.