The reasons for the escape from Kinshasa’s Makala prison on the night of Sunday, September 1 are still unknown, but the provisional death toll is already considerable. Congolese authorities have reported the death of at least 129 inmates, 24 of whom were shot after being warned. “The others were by crushing, suffocation and some women were raped,” said Interior Minister Jacquemain Shabani in a video statement released to the press.
The heavy human toll does not, however, explain how around 100 inmates of this overcrowded prison, the country’s largest, were able to escape in the middle of the night just before 2 am. Although electricity cuts were mentioned, Justice Minister Constant Mutamba, criticized “premeditated acts of sabotage” and promised that “investigations [are] underway.” The interior ministry also stated that 59 prisoners were injured in the events and “condemned the fire in the administrative buildings, registry, infirmary and food depots.”
Several videos have since emerged on social media, including one filmed inside the prison on the night of the escape, showing inmates fleeing to the sound of automatic gunfire. The shots rang out for several hours, according to testimonies gathered by Agence France-Presse. Another video, recorded on Monday morning, shows dozens of inert bodies lined up along the perimeter wall of the Makala penitentiary.
It’s also unclear how the Congolese law enforcement agencies dealt with the mutiny. “The disproportionate nature of the repression is scandalous, in a penitentiary where conditions of detention are already known to be appalling,” stated Hervé Diakese, lawyer and spokesperson for the opposition party Ensemble pour la République. “The repression is disproportionate but not unprecedented,” he added with concern, citing August’s Kilwa massacre in Haut-Katanga where 10 civilians were killed by army bullets, raising questions about the methods and responsibility of law enforcement officers.
A death trap built in 1957 and never modernized
The carnage at Makala once again brings the issue of Congolese prison overcrowding to the forefront of national debate. With a capacity of 1,500 places, the penitentiary houses some 15,000 prisoners – many of whom have not been convicted and are languishing in pre-trial detention.
An investigation by journalist Stanis Bujakera Tshiamala, who was once locked up in the “hell” of Makala, highlighted the overcrowding of this death trap, which was built in 1957 and has never been modernized, with a lack of beds, dilapidated buildings, lack of care for the wounded and chronic corruption. A survey by the Clinton Foundation revealed that 505 inmates died at Makala in 2023 due to untreated chronic illnesses or suffocation.
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