50 inmates escape from DR Congo prison

By Pascal Mulegwa

KINSHASA, Democratic Republic of Congo

At least 50 inmates, including a spiritual leader, have escaped from a maximum security prison in the Democratic Republic of Congo's capital Kinshasa, officials said Wednesday.

"Ne Muanda Nsemi has fled with some 50 prisoners but the police are tracking them and will soon stop them," Lambert Mende, Congolese communication minister and government spokesman, told Anadolu Agency.

According to the minister, the escape came after "an attack on Makala prison by the followers of Bundu Dia Kongo".

Bundu Dia Kongo (BDK) is a political and spiritual movement founded by Ne Muanda Nsemi. The aim of the BDK is to revive the pre-colonial Kongo kingdom.

The assailants are believed to be Nsemi's followers and they liberated their spiritual leader, confirmed Justice Minister Alexis Thambwe Mwamba to Top Congo FM radio station.

Nsemi was a member of parliament before his arrest in March following deadly clashes between security forces and his followers.

The attack on the largest prison in DR Congo began around 4 a.m. local time (0300GMT) and lasted more than an hour before the arrival of army and police forces, residents told Anadolu Agency.

Residents said they saw more than 200 prisoners escaping from prison.

In a series of videos, Nsemi had called for an insurrection against President Joseph Kabila between 2016 and early 2017. He contests Kabila's legitimacy saying that the Congolese president is a Rwandan national.

He is accused of contempt toward the president and inciting tribal hatred.