On Sunday, a violent assault in the town of Butembo North Kivu province, ended the life of Marie-Celestin Karondwa, the acting president of the Union for Democracy and Social Progress (UDPS) federal executive committee in the city. Karondwa had just taken part in a local radio programme where he urged listeners to adopt preventive measures against the ongoing Ebola crisis. The party’s federation in Butembo later reported that a group of residents stormed his home, beat him, looted his possessions and set the building ablaze. He succumbed to his injuries shortly thereafter.
The attack on a political figure
Karondwa’s role within the ruling party made him a visible spokesperson on public-health matters. The UDPS federation described him 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.” While authorities have not yet identified the assailants or established a clear motive, the severity of the assault—beating, robbery and arson—underscores a volatile atmosphere in which political advocacy can become a matter of life and death.
The mayor of Butembo has not responded to requests for comment, and local officials have yet to release details about any arrests. The incident follows a pattern of unrest that has already seen armed men attack a hand-washing checkpoint in nearby Beni territory, killing at least one person and wounding several others.
Ebola outbreak: numbers, strain and regional impact
The current outbreak was declared on May 15 and is caused by the rare Bundibugyo strain of the virus, for which no approved vaccine or treatment exists. According to the DRC health ministry, 8,067 people have been infected and 3,901 have died, making it the deadliest epidemic in the country’s history. Cases have been confirmed in seven provinces, with North Kivu—particularly Butembo—emerging as a new hotspot.
Historically, Ebola was first identified in 1976 in what is now the DRC. The disease spreads through direct contact with body fluids or contaminated materials, leading to severe organ failure, blood-vessel damage and, in many cases, massive internal and external bleeding. The Bundibugyo species is especially aggressive, and the World Health Organization has warned that the outbreak could surpass the 2014-16 West African epidemic, which claimed over 11,000 lives out of more than 28,600 infections.
Data from the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention indicate that the current DRC outbreak is already outpacing the West African crisis in terms of transmission speed. Experts attribute the accelerated spread to a combination of factors: ongoing armed conflict, reductions in humanitarian aid, and a series of attacks on health-care workers and treatment facilities that erode public trust.
Targeting of health responders
Since the outbreak began, there have been multiple reports of violence directed at those trying to contain the disease. Medecins Sans Frontières (MSF) and other NGOs have faced looting, intimidation and, in some cases, lethal assaults on treatment centres. The incident involving Karondwa is the latest reminder that misinformation, rumours and deep-seated distrust can manifest as lethal aggression, jeopardising both community health and the broader response effort.
International bodies such as the World Health Organization and the Africa Centres for Disease Control continue to call for increased security for medical teams, greater community engagement, and rapid dissemination of accurate information to counter the dangerous myths fueling the attacks.
As the DRC grapples with the twin challenges of a deadly epidemic and escalating insecurity, the death of a senior political figure like Marie-Celestin Karondwa illustrates how the crisis has seeped into every layer of society—from health workers on the front lines to elected officials attempting to inform the public.
