500 prisoners died in Makala prison in 2023

More than 500 inmates have died in 11 months at the Makala central prison, the largest in the DRC, located in the capital Kinshasa, due to poor prison conditions.

The figures are chilling. The Congolese NGO Bill Clinton Peace Foundation has issued a warning, denouncing “neglected overcrowding” by the authorities.

In addition, there have been some fifteen deaths since the beginning of December 2023.

The Prison Services Department acknowledges only around 300 deaths (from suffocation, chronic illness and other causes).

According to the prison administration, “the dead include inmates transferred by various security services, who often arrive in a critical condition.”

Officially, Makala prison was built for a capacity of 1,500 inmates. Today, however, the prison holds 13,300 inmates, of whom only some 2,000 have been tried and sentenced.

Others are held on remand, some having spent many years without trial.

According to the Bill Clinton Peace Foundation,“overcrowding makes the prison a misery for inmates.”

“Even if you eat 10 times a day, with suffocation, it’s hard to live,” says Emmanuel Adu Cole, head of the Congolese NGO.