Burned minivans seen outside the main prison in Kinshasa, Congo, Wednesday May 17, 2017 (Source: VOA)

Members of a Christian sect in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), Bundu dia Kongo, on Wednesday morning, attacked a prison in Kinshasa, the country’s capital, freeing their leader along with 50 other inmates.

DRC’s Minister of Justice, Thambwe Mwamba said although security forces have retaken control of the detention facility, they have been unable to recapture Ne Mwanda Nsemi, the freed leader of the religious sect which seeks a revival of the pre-colonial Kongo Kingdom,.

Nsemi, who was arrested alongside his family and followers in March following a clash with security personnel, is believed to have a stronghold in southern Congo where hundreds were killed after the sect clashed with security forces in 2008.