A year after unrest was first reported at the Kasapa Central Prison in the Democratic Republic of Congo, horrific details of mass rape and violence endured by female detainees have come to the light through a report by Human Rights Watch.
In September 2020, Lubumbashi officials were notified of a looming crisis in the local prison as male inmates were preparing for a riot.
In an afternoon a year ago, male prisoners were able to escape their cells after setting them on fire and headed towards the women's department of the prison. Guards were not able to stop them from breaking into female cells as the women fled to the yard where they stayed with no food or protection for three days.
During those three days of unrest, as the men were out of guard's control, they mass raped multiple women several times. HRW reports that at least seven women including a 16-years old teenager got pregnant as a result, in addition to many other women contracting infections and HIV.
Democratic Republic of Congo(DRC) authorities have made no apparent progress investigating the September 2020 prison riot at Kasapa Central Prison in Lubumbashi, Human Rights Watch said. pic.twitter.com/Bf06BcPOoX
— Channel Africa (@channelafrica1) September 20, 2021
The situation at the Kasapa Central Prison was not under control until three days later when additional forces arrived and restored order.
HRW also notes that many of the women who suffered serious consequences of this incident were not offered medical help immediately, which had aggravated their health conditions for several weeks.
The organization's report concluded with an urgent call for Congolese authorities to fully investigate the events of that riot, particularly the fact that officials had already been warned of looming unrest, to which they remained irresponsive.
Written by Riham Darwish
