129 people killed in prison break attempt and mass panic in Congo, 24 prisoners shot dead – India TV

Kinshasa: In a shocking incident, at least 129 people were killed during an attempted escape from Congo's central prison, authorities said on Tuesday. Most of the people died in a stampede following the escape, while several inmates were shot dead by authorities as they tried to escape from Makala central prison.

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 there were several cases of rape of women,” 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 said the shootings in the prison began around midnight on Sunday into Monday morning. A senior government official had previously said only two deaths had been confirmed in the incident, a figure that human rights activists doubt. Videos apparently from the prison show bodies lying on the floor, many of them with visible injuries. Another video shows prisoners carrying what appear 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, 5 km from the presidential palace. The escape attempt was planned by inmates in one of the wings from inside the prison, Mbemba Kabuya, the deputy justice minister, told local radio station Top Congo FM. In the hours after the attack, the road to the prison was cordoned off 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, scores of inmates have been released this year.

Justice Minister Constant Mutamba described the attack as a “deliberate act of sabotage,” adding that those who “instigated 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.

(AP)

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