Key facts
- Marie-Celestin Karondwa, acting president of the UDPS party's federal executive committee in Butembo, was beaten to death on Sunday.
- Karondwa appeared on a radio show to promote Ebola prevention measures.
- Attackers stole his belongings and set his house on fire.
- The UDPS party stated Karondwa was attacked for defending the party's position on the Ebola virus.
- The current Ebola outbreak in the DRC has infected 8,067 people and killed 3,901.
- The outbreak is the largest and deadliest in the DRC's history.
A senior member of the Democratic Republic of the Congo’s ruling party was beaten to death on Sunday after appearing on a radio program to raise awareness about the Ebola outbreak. Marie-Celestin Karondwa, the acting president of the Union for Democracy and Social Progress (UDPS) party’s federal executive committee in Butembo, a new hotspot for the outbreak, was attacked after promoting prevention measures for the disease. The UDPS federation in the city stated that attackers beat Karondwa, stole his belongings, and set his house on fire, and that he later died from his injuries. The motive for the attack was not immediately clear, 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’s death occurs amid a series of attacks on healthcare workers and treatment centers, which experts attribute to rumors, misinformation, and distrust of health responders. These incidents have included violence, riots, property damage, and disruption of services. On Saturday, armed men attacked a hand-washing checkpoint in the nearby Beni Territory, killing at least one person and wounding several others, according to a local civil society group.
The current Ebola outbreak, caused by the rare Bundibugyo virus, was first announced on May 15. It has infected 8,067 people and killed 3,901, according to the DRC’s health ministry, with cases confirmed in seven provinces. This outbreak is the largest and deadliest in the DRC's history and the second largest globally, surpassed only by the 2014-2016 West Africa outbreak. The World Health Organization has warned that the current outbreak is on track to surpass the West African one. Experts cite conflict, aid cuts, and attacks on healthcare workers as factors intensifying the spread of the disease.