24 June 2009
Kinshasa — Twenty female detainees in the central prison in Goma, a large town in northeastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), were raped during a recent riot, officials have said.
"Twenty female prisoners were raped on Monday [22 June] night during an attempted prison escape by a group of militia sentenced to long terms and jailed in the prison," Oscar Kasangandjo, the public prosecutor in Goma, told IRIN.
According to the UN, some deaths were reported during the incident, and several people were wounded.
The imprisoned ex-militia members had been sentenced for "murder, rape and other grave offences," he said, adding that the leaders of the riot were being detained in a prison within the eighth military command in the region.
The UN Mission in the DRC (MONUC) appealed to the government to urgently improve prison conditions and beef up security in prisons, especially with regard to the protection of women against sexual violence - "to avoid a repeat of the tragedy" in Goma prison, a MONUC statement said.
UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon condemned the incident, describing it as "a grim example of both the prison conditions and the level of sexual violence that plagues the DRC".
Overcrowding
Kasangandjo said Goma prison was overcrowded, with very bad living conditions, and currently held at least 600 prisoners, way beyond its design capacity of 150.
At least 90 percent of inmates had been detained on rape and other serious offences, according to Kasangandjo.
The rape of detainees is frequent in the DRC, according to a human rights group, l'Association africaine de défense des droits de l'homme (ASADHO).
"Women are frequently raped in Congolese prisons," said Jean Keba, an ASADHO official. "We have registered a case of a woman who was raped in prison. Such things are sometimes organized in cahoots with the prison authorities. Sometimes the men, especially new inmates, are sodomized by prison gangs."
[ This report does not necessarily reflect the views of the United Nations ]
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It seems that Africa has lost it's soul! Doomed for Hell. How can the so-called leaders know this and do absolutely nothing to help correct this awful behavior. 30 years ago you did not hear about this crime in such high numbers and now it seems just normal. The europeans no longer rule you and africans treat each other worse than the masters did with the horrors the committed. The future of Africa is the children of Africa and they are treated like dogs sorry most dogs I see are treated better than the children of Africa! Shame on the men who sit in high places and close their eyes to the truth to line their pockets with money, that's there God. Warfare, strife, hunger, inadequate medical, schools, roads, safety seems to be the norm. The few proud women of Africa who try to make a difference have a difficult road ahead of them. How can this happen. The horror of rape, it makes me sick to my stomach! These men should be taken out and shot on the spot because they are already in prison for the vicious crimes including rape so why wait to execute them. They do not deserve to live! Shame on you, shame on you DRC! Africa has gone to hell in a hand basket. May God save the children of Africa!
The Gate Keeper