A senior official of the ruling party in the Democratic Republic of Congo has been beaten to death after appearing on a radio show calling for preventive measures against the Ebola epidemic. The incident took place on Sunday in Butembo, North Kivu province. Marie-Celestine Carontois, the acting president of the federal executive committee of the UDPS party in Butembo, was attacked by local residents after his appearance on the radio.
According to foreign media reports , the attackers took his personal belongings and set fire to his apartment, where he suffered serious injuries and died shortly after. The identity of the perpetrators, the number of people involved or the exact motive for the attack are still unknown. The incident has brought to light the tensions and the continued distrust of a part of the population towards the teams that are facing the Ebola epidemic.
Just a day earlier, gunmen attacked a checkpoint in the Beni area, killing at least one person and wounding several others. According to official figures released on Monday, the number of confirmed Ebola cases in the country has surpassed 8,000, while the death toll has reached 3,901. The outbreak, caused by the Budibugyo strain of the virus, is reported to be the largest and deadliest in the history of the Democratic Republic of Congo.
