Deputy Justice Minister Claude Nyamugabo said he found the goats just in time during a routine jail visit.

The beasts were due to appear in court, charged with being sold illegally by the roadside.

He said the animals, which were charged with being sold illegally by the roadside, were held illegally in a Kinshasa prison cell.

The herd was due to appear in court in the capital.

The minister said that the mistake had arisen because police officers had gaps in their knowledge of the law and they would be sent for retraining.

Prisoners in Kinshasa jails have complained of torture.

Two years ago in neighbouring Sudan a man was forced to take a goat as his "wife" and pay a dowry of 15,000 Sudanese dinars (£28) to the owner, after he was caught having sex with the animal.

Sudan is a deeply conservative country and if a man is caught having sex with a girl he is forced to marry her.

The goat's owner, Mr Alifi, said he was surprised to find the man with his goat and took him to a council of elders who decided on the punishment to embarrass the man.

But Rose, a black and white goat, died last year after choking on a plastic bag she swallowed as she was eating scraps on the streets of Juba.