Faced with frequent jail breaks, President Felix Tshisekedi has instructed his government to begin discussions on the possibility of creating a national prison intelligence service.
On September 2, an attempted prison break from Malaka prison in Kinshasa caused the death of 129 prisoners dead and 59 injured due to jostling, suffocation, and gunfire from security forces; some female detainees were reportedly sexually assaulted.
Several buildings were also set ablaze. Officials announced that no prisoners escaped.
In his statement at the extraordinary Council of Ministers meeting held on Monday, September 9, Félix Tshisekedi instructed the government to begin discussions on the possibility of creating a national prison intelligence service capable of anticipating and preventing such tragedies in the future.
Tshisekedi has also asked the Minister of Justice and Keeper of the Seals for a report on the situation of prisons in the DRC.
Interior Minister Jacquemain Shabani said that Seven years ago, at least 4,000 inmates escaped from the same prison – the country’s largest.
Makala Prison, dating from the 1950s, has a capacity of 1,500 prisoners, but more than 14,000 inmates were being held there.
