“By 5:00 AM, we heard screams, then explosions—small explosions, probably from gas canisters in the kitchen,” recounted Maria Tembe, a vendor who lives across the main road from the facility. “Fire trucks arrived quickly, but they couldn’t enter because of the shooting.”
While the riot began as a protest against prison conditions, it quickly devolved into a massacre facilitated by a power vacuum. When the guards retreated, rival gangs—primarily the Gangue dos 24 (24 Gang) and the Moçambicanos Unidos (United Mozambicans)—seized the opportunity to settle scores.
Chaos in Maputo: 33 Dead After Violent Prison Riot and Mass Escape Maputo- 33 dead in prison riot
The riot, which erupted during the early morning hours at the Estabelecimento Penitenciário Especial de Maputo (Maputo Special Penitentiary), has sent shockwaves through a country already grappling with economic instability and a resurgent Islamist insurgency in its northern province. While prison riots are not uncommon in the overcrowded facilities of Southern Africa, the sheer scale of the bloodshed inside the concrete walls has prompted urgent calls for a judicial inquiry and raised serious questions about the state of Mozambique’s correctional system.
The prison is also known for its harsh conditions. Inmates are often forced to live in cells with no beds, and are provided with little food or medical care. The facility has also been criticized for its use of solitary confinement and other forms of punishment. “By 5:00 AM, we heard screams, then explosions—small
Sambo noted that nearly 60% of the inmates in Maputo’s high-security wing are pretrial detainees—people who have been arrested but not yet convicted of a crime. Some have been waiting for trial for more than four years, languishing in legal limbo due to a backlogged judiciary.
and triggered one of the largest jailbreaks in the country's history. Occurring on Christmas Day 2024, the violence at Maputo Central Prison Chaos in Maputo: 33 Dead After Violent Prison
Inmates managed to overpower prison staff, in some cases snatching AK-47 rifles and other weapons.
The incident is a wake-up call for the Mozambican authorities and a reminder of the need for urgent action to address the chronic problems that plague the country's prisons. The government must prioritize the reform of the prison system and ensure that prisoners' rights are respected.
The violence broke out around midday on Christmas Day, a time when security was likely reduced due to the holiday. According to police general commander Bernardino Rafael , the situation escalated when a group of "subversive protesters" outside the prison began demanding the release of detainees. Key details of the breach include:
According to eyewitnesses, the riot began early in the morning when a group of prisoners attacked and killed several guards. The situation quickly escalated, with inmates setting fire to several buildings, including the prison's administration block. Firefighters were called to the scene, but not before the flames had spread, causing significant damage.