Senior Congo ruling party member beaten to death after Ebola awareness radio appearance

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”.