DR Congo Party Official Killed After Ebola Awareness Radio Show

A senior member of the Democratic Republic of the Congo’s ruling party was killed on Sunday after participating in a radio program aimed at raising awareness about the Ebola outbreak. Marie-Celestin Karondwa, who was the acting president of the Union for Democracy and Social Progress (UDPS) in Butembo, was attacked shortly after the broadcast, according to a party representative.

The UDPS stated that Karondwa was assaulted by attackers who beat him, stole his belongings, and set his house on fire. He later died from his injuries. The number and identity of the attackers, as well as their motives, remain unclear.

Karondwa was reportedly targeted after defending the party’s stance on the seriousness of the Ebola outbreak and its risks to the community. His death is part of a troubling trend of violence against healthcare workers and medical facilities, which experts attribute to misinformation about Ebola and a lack of trust in health responders.

On the same day as Karondwa’s death, armed men attacked a hand-washing checkpoint in the nearby Beni territory, resulting in at least one death and several injuries, according to a local civil society group.

Ebola was first discovered in what is now the DRC in 1976. The disease is highly contagious and can spread through contact with infected bodily fluids or contaminated materials. The current outbreak is linked to the rare Bundibugyo virus, which currently has no approved treatment or vaccine.

This outbreak, which began on May 15, has been labeled the largest and deadliest in the DRC’s history, surpassing the scale of the 2014-2016 Ebola outbreak in West Africa. The DRC health ministry has reported over 8,000 infections and nearly 4,000 deaths, with cases confirmed in seven provinces.