Mourners in eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) have gathered to bury Marie-Celestin Karondwa, a local politician who died after being beaten at his home for publicly defending the government’s response to the Ebola outbreak.
Karondwa was attacked on Sunday in Butembo, a major Ebola hotspot in North Kivu Province, according to his political party, the Union for Democracy and Social Progress (UDSP), which leads the DRC government.
He was taken to a local hospital, where he later died from injuries sustained during the attack.
His granddaughter, Sagesse Kavira, told the Associated Press that the attackers beat Karondwa before setting his house on fire.
The UDSP described Karondwa as an “innocent victim” for defending the party’s position on the existence of Ebola and the danger it poses to the population.
The funeral was held in Butembo on Wednesday, September 30.
Authorities have not yet established who carried out the attack, how many people were involved or what motivated the assault.
Karondwa’s killing comes amid growing challenges facing health workers and Ebola responders as the DRC battles its 17th Ebola outbreak, described as the country’s deadliest. More than 8,000 cases and nearly 4,000 deaths have been recorded so far.
The World Health Organization (WHO) said the current outbreak is caused by the Bundibugyo strain of Ebola, for which there is currently no vaccine or specific treatment. Researchers are, however, testing potential vaccine candidates.
The WHO said Ebola has been reported in several provinces, including Bas-Uele, Haut-Uele, Ituri, North Kivu, South Kivu, Sud-Ubangi and Tshopo, with Ituri remaining the worst-affected area.
Health authorities have adopted community-based measures to control the outbreak, but some residents have resisted the response, with distrust of government officials contributing to the spread of misinformation about the disease.
Some residents have reportedly refused to report symptoms because they believe Ebola is a hoax or fear the stigma associated with being diagnosed with the disease.
Health responders say the mistrust has made it more difficult to contain the outbreak, particularly in remote communities and newly affected areas where medical supplies and healthcare workers are limited.
The situation is even more challenging in rebel-controlled areas of eastern DRC, where years of armed conflict and alleged abuses have deepened residents’ distrust of government authorities and outsiders.
WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus has warned that eastern DRC is facing a “catastrophic collision of disease and conflict,” making efforts to control the outbreak increasingly difficult.
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