The Bill Clinton Foundation for Peace (FBCP), a rights group, has called for urgent action at Ndolo military prison in Kinshasa. It says the prison is badly overcrowded. The group made the appeal in a statement issued on October 30, which Radio Okapi reported on Monday.
According to the FBCP, Ndolo holds more than 2,600 detainees. Its capacity is put at 660 places. The group wants Ndolo included in the country's ongoing efforts to ease prison congestion. It noted that transfers to Makala central prison have been suspended.
The statement also highlights two detainees. One is Norbert Luyeye, president of the Union républicaine, held since November 2024. The other is General Justin Kalekuzi Songambele, held since May 2019. The FBCP claims the general's court file has disappeared from the archives of the Court of Cassation.
The group also says its president, Emmanuel Adu Cole, was harassed during a visit to Ndolo. According to the organisation, he was forced to cut the visit short. It says prison staff confiscated his recording device.
The FBCP urged Minister of State for Justice Guillaume Ngefa to tackle the overcrowding. It also wants him to protect the rights of visitors, lawyers and human rights defenders in prisons. The group is seeking the release of Luyeye and Kalekuzi Songambele. It says their cases should be reviewed under the constitution and current law. The sources do not include a response from the Congolese authorities.