Gunfire, gang rapes and missing inmates: Inside a deadly DRC jailbreak

A week after the deadly escape attempt at Makala prison, many blame disastrous prison conditions for making a bad situation worse.

Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of the Congo – It was two hours after midnight last Monday when the first bursts of gunfire rang out in Selembao municipality, south of Kinshasa, the capital of the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

The shots, some deafening, created panic among residents who traced the ruckus to Makala central prison and wondered what could be happening.

Soon after – in videos that went viral on social media – footage emerged of prisoners brandishing torches as they made their way through the darkness, before the situation degenerated when the sound of locks being forced mingled with screams and the thumping of bullets.

In the aftermath, Congolese authorities said there was an attempted jailbreak at Makala –  which holds 10 times the capacity it was built to take. They said at least 129 prisoners were killed – some shot by security forces, others crushed and suffocated.

Authorities said no one escaped. However, inmates and prisoners’ rights groups say there are nearly 2,000 fewer prisoners in Makala now than before the incident.