00:00These images are from a riot that broke out at Makala
00:29prison in the Congolese capital Kinshasa. It is one of the most crowded prisons in the world.
00:34By the end of it, 131 of the inmates were dead, many of them suffocated or trampled.
00:43Makala prison has long been known in Congo for its terrible conditions,
00:48but the country got a wake-up call in July when Stanis Budjakera, a journalist who'd
00:53been detained there for six months himself, published images of life inside.
00:58Another prisoner had sent similar images to the France 24 observers, hundreds of them.
01:04They show day-to-day life for the prisoners, violence, infection,
01:11the diseases they face. Dozens of prisoners die every month.
01:17The Makala prison was built by Congo's colonial rulers, the Belgians, in 1957.
01:26It was designed to hold 1,500 people. It now holds 10 times that number, an estimated 15,000.
01:33Two of the prisoners spoke to us anonymously, afraid they might be punished.
01:38In the room, there are 102 of us. We each have less than a square meter to sleep.
01:43Given the conditions in which we sleep, it is a habit for us to have side pains.
01:48We sleep like sardines in a box. We are told that we sleep in a gillette way, like razor blades.
01:54Those who have no means sleep in the corridor. For example, I sleep in the corridor.
01:59There are also those who sleep in showers. They have wounds on their bodies.
02:03They even sleep in toilets because they have no relatives to pay for a room.
02:09There are two classes of prisoner at Makala. Those who can pay get decent-sized cells.
02:14That can cost thousands of dollars a month.
02:17For those who can't pay, it's survival of the fittest, especially for new arrivals.
02:23They go through brutal hazing by older prisoners, known as the governors.
02:27Charlene Yangozo works with a prison reform group called the Bill Clinton Foundation for Peace.
02:33It was inspired by the former US president, but it's not run by him.
02:54The lack of space in the cells leaves some prisoners with severely stiffened joints,
03:00a syndrome known as algodystrophy, making them unable to walk.
03:06It's not easy to walk.
03:08It's not easy to walk.
03:10It's not easy to walk.
03:12It's not easy to walk.
03:14It's not easy to walk.
03:16It's not easy to walk.
03:18It's not easy to walk.
03:20It's known as algodystrophy, making them unable to walk.
03:29The confinement can cause sores that get infected and lead to death if untreated.
03:37The lack of clean water for drinking and washing can lead to diseases like typhoid.
03:45And drinking water is limited.
03:47These men are running to get water.
03:50Not everyone will get some.
03:54One meal a day leaves many prisoners with malnutrition.
03:59And the prison's hospital is overwhelmed.
04:01Prisoners sometimes wait days to be treated.
04:07The Foundation says that more than 500 prisoners died at Makala in 2023.
04:20If we don't provide adequate equipment, we won't be able to perform a miracle.
04:23Usually, we bring in the detainee when the situation is so deteriorated
04:30that the person is practically living his last moments.
04:34Congo's new Justice Minister Constant Mutamba had visited the prison in June
04:39and pledged to start reducing its population.
04:43527 prisoners were released in July.
04:46And a month later, 3,000 mattresses were delivered.
04:51But there is a basic problem.
04:53Makala is the only detention centre in all of Kinshasa with its 17 million people.
04:59That means it has to take in men and women who are awaiting trial,
05:02not just those who have been convicted.
05:05Bill Clinton Foundation estimates that 70% of Makala's inmates are there while awaiting trial.
05:12The paperwork is so bad that many of them aren't even informed about their status.
05:17There are people, even the prisoners themselves, who have been convicted
05:22and don't know that they have been convicted,
05:24who have already been punished, who don't know that they have already been punished.
05:29The prison itself, the strike, sometimes doesn't realise it
05:33because no one has followed the files.
05:36Well, it goes by like that, unnoticed, and then the person continues to remain in prison
05:42while his time in detention is already over.
05:45The DRC's government spokesman told France 24 after the riot
05:49that plans were underway to further reduce the population of the prison.
05:53But he did not give a timetable.
05:55The question was raised not only in Makala's prison in Kinshasa,
05:59but in other prisons.
06:00You know, there are judicial processes.
06:02You have to know how to identify each detainee,
06:04in what circumstances he arrived at this place,
06:07and what to do to get him out.
06:08It can't be done automatically either.
06:10The Congolese government has pledged to build another prison in Kinshasa,
06:14whose population is now at least 30 times greater than when Makala was built in 1957.
06:23That's it for this week.
06:24As always, you can find more reports from our observers
06:25on our website observers.france24.com.
06:28I'll see you next time.
