Congo politician killed after defending Ebola response amid deep mistrust

A Congo politician was beaten to death after defending the government's Ebola response on radio. The killing exposes the mistrust and denial still obstructing containment efforts.

In Short

• Karondwa was attacked at home after urging residents to follow precautions
• Funeral testimony said assailants beat him severely and set his house ablaze
• Butembo remains an Ebola hotspot in eastern North Kivu province

Mourners in Congo on Wednesday buried a local politician who was beaten to death after he publicly defended the government’s response to Ebola, in a killing that underlines the deep mistrust hampering efforts to contain the fast-growing outbreak.

Marie-Clestin Karondwa, a local official of Congo’s ruling Union for Democracy and Social Progress party, was attacked at his home in Butembo, an Ebola hotspot in eastern North Kivu province, on Sunday after he spoke in support of the response during a radio programme, the party said. The country is battling its 17th and deadliest Ebola outbreak, which has so far recorded more than 8,000 cases, including nearly 4,000 deaths.

At Karondwa’s funeral on Wednesday, his granddaughter Sagesse Kavira told The Associated Press: "They beat him up and then set the house alight." He later died of his injuries at a local hospital.

The killing comes after a series of attacks on health workers and other responders. Authorities this month launched a village-centred approach to fight the outbreak, but the effort continues to face resistance from some residents who dismiss Ebola as a hoax amid wider distrust of the government, linked to the handling of past Ebola outbreaks and chronic corruption.

Responders say scepticism about the disease has made it harder to work with residents, including in remote communities and new hotspots already facing shortages of medical supplies and healthcare workers. The mistrust has been especially hard to overcome in rebel-controlled parts of eastern Congo, where years of conflict and human rights abuses have left many people wary of outsiders and state authorities.

Jean-Baptiste Katsongo Lwatswa, first federal vice-president of UDPS in Butembo, said Karondwa had used the radio programme to urge people to follow response measures, especially social distancing and handwashing. "That is believed to have provoked the anger of certain young people," he said.

Enoch Muhindo Balimatangi, a resident of Butembo, said fear and confusion remained among locals. "Some say that the illness exists, while others refuse to accept that it does. That’s frightening!" he said.

A major challenge in containing this outbreak is that there are no approved vaccines or treatments for the rare Bundibugyo virus behind it. Clinical trials are under way in Ituri province, the epicentre. In its latest situation report, the World Health Organization said the outbreak remained serious, with "persistent challenges in timely case detection and access to early and adequate patient care". WHO has also said the outbreak continues to outpace efforts to trace and contain it, and could surpass the West Africa outbreak of 2014 to 2016, which killed 11,000 people. The burial of Karondwa reflects the climate of fear, denial and mistrust that continues to obstruct the Ebola response in Congo.

With PTI Inputs

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