At least 129 people have been killed in an attempted jailbreak at the Democratic Republic of Congo’s main prison, largely due to a stampede, authorities reported. Early on Tuesday, Interior Minister Shabani Lukoo posted a statement on X, revealing that 24 inmates were shot dead by “warning” shots as they attempted to escape from the overcrowded Makala prison in Kinshasa early Monday. The tragic event was compounded by a fire that erupted in the jail’s administrative building, food depots, and hospital.
In addition to the fatalities caused by gunshots and the stampede, the chaos resulted in 59 people being wounded. Minister Shabani Lukoo confirmed in a video statement that the mass escape attempt led to significant loss of life and material damage, though the situation has since been brought under control. According to earlier reports, no inmates successfully escaped during the incident; those who attempted were killed.
The Makala prison, which has a capacity of only 1,500 inmates, currently houses over 12,000 people, most of whom are awaiting trial, as per an Amnesty International report. The prison has a history of jailbreaks, including a notable incident in 2017 when a religious sect attacked and freed dozens of inmates. The government has announced an investigation into the latest incident
