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The operation took place at Makala Central Prison in the capital
Kinshasa on Monday afternoon. Severely ill prisoners received
immediate medical care, while others were sent home on buses
provided by the ministry of justice and a state-owned company,
Minister of Justice Constant Mutamba said.
Makala prison, Congo’s largest penitentiary with a capacity for
1,500 people, holds more than 12,000 inmates, most of whom are
awaiting trial, Amnesty International said in its latest country
report.
Earlier this month, an attempted jailbreak at the prison left
129 people dead, including some who were shot by guards and
soldiers and others who died in a stampede at the overcrowded
facility, according to authorities. Emmanuel Adu Cole, a
prominent prison rights activist in Congo and president of the
local Bill Clinton Peace Foundation, put the death toll at more
than 200.
Inmates had increasingly grown frustrated with the poor
conditions in the facility, including inadequate beds, poor
feeding and poor sanitation. However, authorities failed to act
despite warnings, said Cole, whose foundation has visited the
prison in the past.
Stanis Bujakera Tshiamala, a prominent Congolese journalist who
was recently detained in the prison for months, spoke of its
“deplorable and inhumane” conditions and how inmates constantly
lack food, water and medical care. Nearly 700 women, and
hundreds of minors who are “treated in the same way as adults,”
are among the inmates, he said.
Last week, Minister of Justice Mutamba announced the release of
600 inmates, including around 10 minors, and ordered prison
authorities to examine the cases of all minors to organize more
releases. There are around 300 minors at Makala prison,
according to the prison’s deputy director.
Mutamba said there are plans for the construction of a new
prison in Kinshasa, without giving more details.
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