News24 | Congo politician beaten to death after urging Ebola prevention on radio, party says

A worker wearing personal protective equipment (PPE) disinfects a desk at the Kitatumba Ebola treatment centre run by Médecins Sans Frontières/Doctors Without Borders (MSF) in Butembo, North Kivu province, DRC, on 23 September.

Reuters/Gradel Muyisa Mumbere

A senior member of ‌Congo’s ruling party was beaten to death after taking part in a radio programme to raise ‌awareness about the Ebola outbreak, a ⁠party representative said on Monday.

The incident happened ⁠on Sunday in Butembo, North Kivu province, which has recently become a hotspot in the ongoing Ebola outbreak.

Marie-Celestin Karondwa, acting president of the UDPS party’s ‌federal executive committee in Butembo and a party spokesperson, was attacked by residents of his neighbourhood after appearing on a radio show ‌during which he promoted Ebola prevention measures, the UDPS federation in Butembo said in a statement.

The party said the attackers beat him, looted his belongings and set his house on ‌fire. It was ⁠not immediately clear who carried out the attack, how many were involved or what motivated it. But the party said Karondwa was “an innocent victim for having defended the party’s position on the existence of the Ebola virus disease (...) and the threat it poses to the population.”

Karondwa later died from his injuries, the party said.

The mayor of Butembo did ⁠not immediately respond to a request for comment.

READ | DR Congo Ebola outbreak ‘growing exponentially’ – UN

The incident is the latest in a series of attacks on Ebola response teams, underscoring persistent mistrust among the population.

⁠On Saturday, armed men attacked a hand-washing checkpoint in nearby Beni territory, killing at least one person and wounding several others, a local civil society group reported.

The outbreak, declared on 15 May, has infected ‌8 067 people and killed ‌3 901, according to government data released on Monday.