DRC: at least 129 dead in botched escape attempt from country’s largest prison

At least 129 people were reportedly killed while trying to escape from the Democratic Republic of Congo’s (DRC’s) largest and chronically overcrowded prison in the capital Kinshasa.
Congolese Interior Minister Shabani Lukoo said in a post on X on Tuesday (3 September) that “he provisional toll is 129 dead, including 24 by gunfire, after warning,” with the others having lost their lives by suffocation in the crowd during the chaos, adding that also 59 others were injured. Lukoo also said that the prisoners attempted to break out amid a fire that hit the building’s administrative buildings including the infirmary, causing “significant material damage.” While the situation was under control and investigations were taking place, the minister said he was holding a “crisis” meeting with the heads of defense and security services.
Though built to hold 1,500 prisoners, the Makala prison reportedly has between 14,000 and 15,000 detainees at present, most of them awaiting trial, according to Amnesty International’s most recent country report on the DRC. The prison has recorded previous jailbreaks, including in 2017, when at least 4,000 prisoners – more than half its population at the time – managed to escape after armed men attacked the building at night. Authorities had been trying to reduce overcrowding, with dozens of inmates released in recent months, and with plans in place to build a new prison.