By Jamesetta D Williams
Monrovia-Liberians sharing their thoughts on the jail break in Kakata, Margibi County are not only concerned about the lurking danger as marauding criminals spread in the woods of the county, but also wondering what happened that led to the incident and the after-effects.
Not only residents of the county are on alert, but there are indications the entire country is in the grip of apprehension as citizens are now trying to ready themselves for would-be aftermaths.
According to information gathered by this paper, residents of Kakata are alerting their relatives in Monrovia to be on the watch because “they guys have spread in the bush, perhaps finding pathways to reach Monrovia and other adjacent neighborhoods.
As indicated by the Liberia National Police (LNP), 77 inmates remain at large following a jailbreak, and that security forces are combing everywhere to ensure re-arrest of the jail escapees, some of them notorious to citizens for intolerable crimes against them.
The Ministry of Justice confirmed the jailbreak in a statement issued Sunday, September 20, 2026, saying a number of inmates escaped from the facility and that the Joint Security had launched a search and recapture operation.
The Ministry, however, said the Bureau of Corrections and Rehabilitation was still verifying and reconciling prison records to establish the confirmed number and identities of the inmates involved.
Meanwhile, Police Spokesperson Sam Collins said 99 inmates escaped from the facility, of whom 22 have since been rearrested, leaving approximately 77 still at large.
Collins made the disclosure Monday while speaking on the Spoon Breakfast Show.
According to the police spokesperson, the escape occurred when inmates were taken outside their cells but remained within the prison compound for sunbathing.
He said the inmates took advantage of the situation and escaped from the prison facility.
Collins also disclosed that authorities were unable to immediately release the identities of the escaped inmates because prison records containing information about the prisoners were allegedly destroyed during the incident.
He said the Ministry of Justice was working to reconstruct the records to establish the identities of the inmates who escaped.
The Ministry of Justice said once the verification process is completed, it will release the names and other identification information of the inmates who escaped and remain on the run.
The Ministry said the information would assist both members of the public and security authorities in efforts to locate and recapture the escapees.
The Joint Security has since been alerted and security personnel are actively searching for the inmates.
The Ministry of Justice has urged members of the public to remain vigilant and report any information regarding the whereabouts of the escapees to the nearest police station or other security authority.
The public has also been warned not to attempt to apprehend any of the escapees themselves or harbor them.
The Ministry said the Joint Security will continue to pursue the matter and provide additional information as it becomes available.
Residents say this pattern has become familiar, asserting that the prison has suffered previous breakouts two years ago and several smaller attempts, all blamed on the same systemic problems: overcrowding, dilapidated fences, and a single officer often left to guard over 200 inmates.
“This is not the first security breach. The escaped inmates could pose a direct threat to surrounding communities,” a resident said.
The Ministry has promised to release the full list of escapees once verification is complete.
For now, Kakata remains tense, with families locking doors early and joint security patrols continuing throughout the night.
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