Authorities in DR Congo have said they released 600 prisoners in the country’s main prison Makala on Saturday, September 21, as part of a process aimed at decongesting overcrowded prisons, the Associated Press reported. Justice Minister Constant Mutamba announced the move to decongest prisons during a ceremony at Makala Central Prison in the capital, Kinshasa. There are plans for construction of a new prison in Kinshasa, Mutamba said, without giving more details. ALSO READ: DR Congo: 129 inmates killed in Makala prison break This follows an attempted prison break that saw 129 inmates killed as security forces foiled what officials described as a “premeditated sabotage” on September 2. The Makala prison has a capacity of 1500 people but there are about 12,000 inmates, according to Amnesty International. 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, according to the AP. ALSO READ: ‘Attempted coup’ in Kinshasa suppressed, says army There were also several cases of women raped during the attempted prison break, Congolese Interior Minister Jacquemin Shabani posted on X earlier this month, without elaborating. “We have had a difficult time in recent days with everything that was happening here, there were rapes, we were victims, many of us died,” said Prisca Mbombo, one of the freed prisoners. The 22-year-old spent two months in the prison after being arrested following a fight in a bar. “We really thank this gesture from the minister and I will never return to this place,” she said. Reports point to poor conditions in the facility, including inadequate beds, poor feeding and poor sanitation. The justice minister said that around 10 minors were freed on Saturday, while he 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. “I am happy to regain my freedom. I am still young and I can return to my studies,” Munganga Mungendo, a 16-year-old who spent more than a year at the prison after having been sentenced to four years for theft, told the AP. All severely ill inmates at Makala prison will be released starting Sunday, the justice minister said.
