A jailbreak attempt at one of the largest prisons in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) resulted in the deaths of over 120 people in the early hours of Monday. The incident occurred at around 2 a.m. local time in the Makala Central Prison, located in the capital, Kinshasa.
Makala Central Prison, which holds 1,500 inmates, has seen unrest before, but this breakout was particularly deadly. Details surrounding the cause of the incident remain unclear, though the situation quickly escalated as prisoners attempted a mass escape.
Interior Minister Jacquemain Shabani Lukoo Bihango addressed the press on Monday, stating, “The provisional human toll stands at 129 dead, including 24 by gunshot after warning. The others died by jostling, suffocation, and some women were raped.” He also confirmed that 59 individuals were receiving medical care.
Footage circulating online shows a chaotic scene, with scattered debris and several prison offices and chairs set on fire.
An eyewitness, Daddi Soso, who lives near the prison, recounted the terrifying events. “There were gunshots from 01:00 or 02:00 in the morning until around 05:00,” he said. “There were deaths, and some people managed to escape.”
Following the incident, Minister Bihango held an emergency meeting with the country’s defense and security services to address the situation. While calm has since been restored, investigations are ongoing to determine the circumstances of the jailbreak.
The Democratic Republic of Congo has a history of prison breakouts. In a 2017 incident, over 50 inmates, including the leader of a religious sect, escaped from Makala prison after an attack by the sect. CNN reported that in 2020, an ISIS-linked rebel group claimed responsibility for a jailbreak in Beni, northeastern DRC, which freed nearly 1,000 prisoners and left at least 11 people, including security personnel, dead.
The DRC has also struggled with long-standing issues of overcrowding and poor prison conditions. A prison break in Matadi in 2022 saw 189 inmates escape after taking control of the prison’s armory. Many believe that such conditions contribute to the frequency of these breakouts.
Justice Minister Constant Mutamba vowed that authorities would “identify and severely punish the sponsors of these acts of sabotage.”
Human rights concerns have long been raised about prison conditions in the DRC. In 2020, the BBC spoke to prison officials who reported severe food shortages, lack of hygiene, and extreme overcrowding. At that time, it was estimated that only 6% of inmates were actually serving sentences, with the majority held for years due to delays in the judicial system.
