Congo releases 600 prisoners from main prison in bid to ease overcrowding

KINSHASA, Congo (AP) — Authorities in Congo said they released 600 inmates from the country’s main prison on Saturday as part of a process aimed at decongesting overcrowded jails.

Justice Minister Constant Mutamba announced the measure during a ceremony at the Makala central prison in the Congolese capital Kinshasha.

There are plans to build a new prison in Kinshasa, he said, without giving further details.

The 1,500-capacity Makala prison holds more than 12,000 prisoners, most of whom are awaiting trial, Amnesty International said in its latest country report.

Earlier this month a attempted escape from prison At least 129 people were killed, including some shot by guards and soldiers and others who died in a stampede through the overcrowded facility, authorities said. Emmanuel Adu Cole, a prominent prison rights activist in Congo and chairman of the local Bill Clinton Peace Foundation, put the death toll at more than 200.

There were also several cases of women being raped during the attempted escape, Congolese Interior Minister Jacquemin Shabani posted on X earlier this month, without going into further details.

“We have had a hard time these last days with everything that happened here, there were rapes, we were victims, many of us died,” said Prisca Mbombo, one of the released prisoners. Mbombo, 22, spent two months in prison after being arrested following a bar brawl.

“We are very grateful to the minister for this gesture and I will never return to this place,” she said.

Prisoners grew increasingly frustrated with the poor conditions at the facility, including poor beds, poor food and poor sanitation. But authorities failed to take action despite warnings, said Cole, whose foundation has visited the prison in the past.

Stanis Bujakera Tshiamala, a prominent Congolese journalist who was recently held in prison for months, spoke of the “deplorable and inhumane” conditions and how prisoners are constantly lacking food, water and medical care. Nearly 700 women and hundreds of minors who are “treated in the same way as adults” are among the detainees, he said.

Mutamba, the justice minister, said about 10 minors were released on Saturday, while he ordered prison authorities to investigate the cases of all minors with a view to organizing more releases. There are about 300 minors in Makala Prison, the deputy director of the prison said.

“I am happy to have my freedom back. I am still young and I can study again,” Munganga Mungendo, a 16-year-old who spent more than a year in prison after being sentenced to four years for theft, told The Associated Press.

All seriously ill prisoners in Makala prison will be released from Sunday, Mutamba said.