The Kumla Prison, popularly known as the Bunker, is Sweden's toughest high-security correctional facility located in Kumla outside the province of Närke. As the largest high security level 1 prison, “The Bunker”, built in 1965, houses 701 of Sweden's most hardened criminals and employs about 800 people.
The shocking plot twist is that the Kumla prison is run by an African man, Jacques Mwepu, originally from The Congo. In a new autobiography, Mwepu writes about his life and how he ended up in Sweden and becoming a prison warden.
Jacques Mwepu had a happy childhood in a privileged area of The Congo. But during Jacques' university years, the threats from President Mobutu’s brutal dictatorship became increasingly apparent, and he eventually had to flee for his life. This was the beginning of an unlikely path that eventually led him to becoming the first black man to head a Swedish prison.
In the autobiography From Congo to Kumla, Jacques Mwepu tells the story of his upbringing, his life as a refugee, and the reality inside Sweden’s prisons. It is a story of resilience, hope, and one man’s belief that every person can change for the better.
Jacques Mwepu has worked in the Swedish Prison system and Probation Services for almost thirty years and is currently the chief warden and director of Kumla Prison. The autobiography is written together with journalist Anna-Maria Stawreberg.