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Residents in Butembo, North Kivu province, beat Marie-Celestin Karondwa, a senior member of the Democratic Republic of Congo’s ruling party, Union for Democracy and Social Progress (UDPS), to death after he appeared on a radio programme to promote Ebola prevention measures, party representatives confirmed Monday.
Karondwa, spokesperson and acting president of the UDPS party’s local federal executive committee, suffered a fatal assault on Sunday when neighbourhood attackers targeted him, looted his belongings, and set his home ablaze.
Party officials condemned the attack, describing Karondwa as “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.”
Read More : Surging Ebola Outbreak Overwhelms Congo
The killing highlights the severe community mistrust and escalating violence confronting health messaging and medical response efforts in eastern Congo, where Butembo has emerged as a major hotspot.
The assault follows a separate attack on Saturday, where armed men ambushed a hand-washing checkpoint in nearby Beni territory, killing at least one person and injuring several others.
According to government data released Monday, the outbreak has infected 8,067 people and claimed 3,901 lives since authorities declared the emergency on May 15.
