Protesters set fire to Ebola tents in dispute over body
Eyewitnesses said protesters set fire to tents for Ebola patients after Congolese officials refused to give them the body of the victim they wanted to bury, a popular local football player suspected of dying in the ongoing outbreak.
Police used warning shots and tear gas to defuse the incident in Ituri province, highlighting the struggle authorities in the Democratic Republic of Congo may face to ensure the safe burial of people with confirmed and suspected cases, which is essential to help control the outbreak.
It took place in the town of Rwampara, which was hit hard by the recent Ebola outbreak caused by the Bundibugyo strain of Ebola, for which there is no approved vaccine or treatment.
The bodies of Ebola victims are highly contagious after death, and unsafe burials where family members handle the body without proper protective equipment are a leading driver of transmission.
The first known case of the outbreak died in Bunia, the capital of Ituri province, on April 24, and the virus spread when his body was taken to the nearby town of Mongbwalu and people gathered around and touched his body during the funeral procession.
Footballer Eli Munongo Wangu’s family on Thursday refused to give him a safe burial, disputed that the virus killed him and demanded his body be retrieved.
Authorities finally buried him overnight Friday, despite his family’s objections.
Munongo played for many local teams and was a well-known name in his neighbourhood.
He was hospitalized days ago.
A doctor told Reuters he had a suspected case of Ebola and the hospital had taken samples for testing.
His mother told Reuters she believed her son died of typhoid, not Ebola.
Senior police officer Jean-Claude Mukendi, who coordinated the security of the response in Ituri, said family, friends and neighbors gathered outside the hospital to collect his body and bury it themselves, despite clear instructions that all bodies should be buried safely.
Reuters witnesses said soldiers tried to defuse tensions by using tear gas and firing warning shots to disperse the crowd before police intervened.
Mukendi said the crowd then set fire to two eight-bed tents run by medical aid organization ALIMA, before army and police reinforcements brought the situation under control.
The tents and the body that was supposed to be buried that day were burned.
In its statement, ALIMA said that six patients were treated in tents and taken into hospital care.
Local chief Batakura Zamundu Mugeni, who was present at the scene, said authorities were working with health authorities to find contact cases as well as patients who may have escaped.
Mukendi blamed “young people who cannot grasp the reality of the disease” for the unrest.
Distrust and disinformation had hampered the response to previous Ebola outbreaks in Congo.
The current outbreak is the third largest on record, with 160 suspected deaths out of 670 suspected cases, according to Democratic Republic of Congo health ministry data.
Congo’s national football team was forced to cancel its World Cup preparation events in Kinshasa, but will instead continue preparations in Belgium to comply with US travel restrictions.
