A senior representative of the Democratic Republic of the Congo’s ruling party, the Union for Democracy and Social Progress (UDPS), was beaten to death on Sunday following his participation in a radio broadcast. Marie-Celestin Karondwa, who served as the acting president of the party’s federal executive committee in the city of Butembo, was targeted after using the airwaves to advocate for essential Ebola prevention measures.
The UDPS federation in Butembo stated that following the radio appearance, assailants attacked Karondwa, looted his belongings, and set his residence ablaze. He eventually succumbed to injuries sustained during the assault. While the identity of the attackers and their specific motives remain unconfirmed, party leadership described Karondwa as an innocent victim who was targeted specifically for defending the party’s stance on the reality of the Ebola virus and the severe threat it poses to the local population. According to it was not immediately clear who carried out the attack, how many people were involved or what motivated it, but the party, 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”. Blood vessel impairment and sometimes severe internal and external bleeding, it spreads through body fluids or contaminated materials and causes organ damage.
This incident reflects a broader pattern of violence targeting healthcare responders and treatment facilities, which has been exacerbated by pervasive misinformation and deep-seated distrust of health authorities. Just one day before this attack, unidentified armed individuals assaulted a hand-washing station in the neighboring Beni territory, resulting in at least one fatality and multiple injuries, as reported by local civil society organizations.
Ebola, a highly contagious and frequently fatal viral disease, was first discovered in the region in 1976. The current outbreak, which has been identified as the rare Bundibugyo strain, has proven particularly devastating, causing widespread destruction and disruption to vital public health services. Government figures indicate the virus has already infected 8,067 people and claimed 3,901 lives since the outbreak was first announced on May 15. Riots and property damage and the disruption of essential services, the incidents have included violence.
With confirmed cases across seven provinces, this event now stands as the largest and deadliest Ebola crisis in the history of the DRC. The scale of the current emergency has now surpassed the 2014-2016 west African outbreak—which caused over 11,000 deaths—according to data from the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention. Ongoing regional conflict and the systematic targeting of medical infrastructure continue to severely hinder containment efforts. Which infected more than 28,600 people and killed more than 11,000, the outbreak is the largest and deadliest in the DRC’s history and second only globally to the 2014-16 outbreak in west Africa.
