DR Congo Mourns Local Official Beaten to Death Over Ebola Stance

Mourners have gathered in eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo to bury a local politician who his party stated was beaten to death after defending the government’s Ebola response on the radio.

The funeral for Marie-Celestin Karondwa took place in the city of Butembo on Wednesday. According to his political party, the Union for Democracy and Social Progress (UDSP), which leads the DRC government, Karondwa was attacked on Sunday at his home in Butembo, an Ebola hotspot located in North Kivu province. He later succumbed to his injuries at a local hospital.

"They beat him up and then set the house on fire," his granddaughter, Sagesse Kavira, shared with The Associated Press news agency during the funeral.

The party described Karondwa as "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." At the time, it remained unclear who carried out the attack, the number of individuals involved, or the motivation behind it.

This tragic killing follows a series of attacks directed at health workers and responders as the Central African nation confronts its 17th and deadliest Ebola outbreak, which has surpassed 8,000 cases and resulted in nearly 4,000 deaths.

According to the World Health Organization (WHO), the current outbreak stems from the Bundibugyo strain of the virus, for which no vaccine or specific treatment currently exists, though researchers are testing potential candidates.

The WHO noted that Ebola has affected provinces including Bas-Uele, Haut-Uele, Ituri, North Kivu, South Kivu, Sud Ubangi, and Tshopo, with Ituri remaining the most severely impacted area.

While officials have attempted to combat the outbreak through a village-based approach, some residents continue to resist, dismissing Ebola as a hoax amid deep distrust of the government. Many locals believe the disease is merely a ruse for officials to siphon funds, while others refuse to report symptoms due to disbelief or social shame.

Responders report that widespread skepticism has severely complicated their efforts, particularly in remote communities and emerging hotspots facing shortages of medical supplies and health workers. Overcoming this mistrust has proven exceptionally difficult in rebel-held areas of eastern DRC, where decades of conflict and human rights abuses have left residents deeply wary of outsiders and state authorities.

Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, the WHO’s director-general, previously stated that the country's eastern region faces "a catastrophic collision of disease and conflict" that continues to hamper the response.