A herd of goats has managed to escape justice after a government official found them sitting in jail in Kinshasa, capital of the Democratic Republic of Congo.

Accused of being tasty

Deputy Justice Minister Claude Nyamugabo said he was on a routine visit to the Kinshasa jail recently when he was surprised to find a herd of goats in one of the cells. Prison officials told him that the goats had been charged with “being sold illegally by the roadside” and were due to appear in court to answer for their crimes. Outraged, he ordered the goats released immediately.  (The goat-sellers themselves apparently are still incarcerated.) Nyamugabo said local police apparently had “serious gaps in their knowledge” and would be sent for retraining, suggesting the Congo Police Academy has a course on goat rights.

The report did not say what the penalty is for being sold illegally by the roadside, but I think we can speculate that it involves some sort of barbecue.