Escape attempt in Kinshasa leaves nearly 130 dead, mainly in stampede, authorities say

Kinshasa, Congo — An attempted escape from Makala Central Prison, Congo’s main jail, has left at least 129 people dead, most in a stampede, authorities said Tuesday. A preliminary toll shows that 24 inmates were shot dead by “warning” gunfire as they tried to escape from the overcrowded Makala Central Prison in Kinshasa early Monday, Congolese Interior Minister Jacquemin Shabani said on the social media platform X.

“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 has been restored in the prison, part of which was set on fire during the attack.

Makala, Congo’s largest penitentiary with a capacity of 1,500 people, holds more than 12,000 inmates, most of whom are awaiting trial, Amnesty International said in its latest report on the country. The facility has previously experienced escapes, including in 2017, when an attack by a religious sect led to the release of dozens of inmates.

Gunfire erupted inside the prison around midnight Sunday and early Monday, residents said. A senior government official had earlier said only two deaths had been confirmed in the incident, a figure disputed by rights activists.

Videos apparently from the prison show bodies lying on the ground, many with visible injuries. Another video shows inmates carrying apparently dead people into a vehicle.

No signs of a break-in were found in the prison, located in the city centre, 5 kilometres from the presidential palace.

The escape attempt was planned from inside the prison by inmates from one of the wards, Mbemba Kabuya, deputy justice minister, told local radio station Top Congo FM.

In the hours following the attack, the road leading to the prison was sealed off as authorities convened a commission of inquiry into the incident.

Makala prison, like other prisons in Congo, is so overcrowded that people often starve to death, activists say. Dozens of inmates have been released this year as part of efforts to decongest the prisons.

Justice Minister Constant Mutamba called the attack a “premeditated act of sabotage,” adding that those who “incited these acts of sabotage… will receive a severe response.”

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