Rape Victims Share Horrifying Stories from DR Congo Jailbreak

Göktay Koraltan / BBC “He told me that if I tried to escape, he would kill me.” Pascaline, 22, recalls the words of a perpetrator during her time at Munzenze Prison in Goma. The assault was part of a harrowing experience for many inmates as rebels entered and took control of the facility on January 27.

Survivors describe chaos ensuing from both the fire that engulfed parts of the prison and subsequent rapes carried out by attackers, believed to be fellow prisoners seeking refuge elsewhere in Goma. The fighting between M23 rebels and government forces had left much of Goma under rebel control when they stormed the women’s wing.

Another survivor, Florence from Bujumbura, recounted a confusing sequence of events that led up to her release with 18 others at around midday on January 27. “I could see they were prisoners,” she said, describing how some attackers came without shoes and climbed onto the prison roof shouting for those they knew.

Sifa was one of many who lost a child in the attack. The peanut seller’s two-year-old daughter Esther died after falling from her mother’s back as the group tried to escape the fire-torn building.

Survivors say no official has reached out to them for information, leaving questions about accountability and any plans for addressing crimes committed during those chaotic hours.