Last night, April 7th, Eliode Chuma, brother of our correspondent from Congo, Prince Amani Musemakweli, tragically lost his life during an attack by armed robbers, which occurred at 8:00 PM on the Uvira road in Bukavu.
Prince has repeatedly and courageously testified to us about the difficult situation Congo is currently experiencing, and he has repeatedly communicated the daily danger looming over his family and community. Armed militias have no qualms about committing brutality, robbery, and killing unarmed civilians.
Prince Amani himself is a survivor, wounded in 1998 at just 7 years old in an armed attack by the FDLR, the rebel group active mainly in the North and South Kivu provinces of the Democratic Republic of Congo, in which his sisters Elisabeth and Emmanuella were also injured.
The group has repeatedly been responsible for serious violations of international law, killings, mutilations, sexual violence, and forced displacement of civilians, including women and children.
Prince Amani Musemakweli, who has been active for years in the defense of human rights, is the Coordinator of JSJD ASBL in the Democratic Republic of Congo – Ambassador for Climate and Peace, a socioeconomic researcher, as well as the head of research and development of beekeeping in his South Kivu region, where he coordinates numerous scientific studies. “Jeunes Solidaires pour la Justice et le Développement” (Youth Solidarity for Justice and Development) is an association that deals with human rights and development in the eastern region of the DRC, as well as the recovery of the numerous war victims. Eliode was also part of JSJD ASBL; he was a very active and bright young man. He was only 27 years old.
The war, in addition to halting the economic development of the region, continues to hit the civilian community hard and with unprecedented violence, with robberies, rapes, and killings that spare no one. This year alone, the M23 offensive has reportedly caused the deaths of over 7,000 people. The humanitarian situation is disastrous, with thousands of displaced people living in precarious conditions, without access to food, clean water, and adequate healthcare. The risk of epidemics, such as cholera, is very high.
Appeals for pacification and a return to normalcy seem to fall on deaf ears; global attention has now shifted elsewhere, but in Congo, people continue to die from war, hunger, and lack of basic necessities, without anyone committing to finding a solution.
Meanwhile, Director Antonella Napoli and all the collaborators of Focus on Africa join Prince and his family in this moment of grief.
