Key points:
- Armed men invaded two United Methodist health centers in eastern Congo, leading to violence and looting.
- The armed men attacked staff and stole medicine, personal belongings and hospital funds at Irambo and Majengo health centers. It was the second invasion at Irambo in a month.
- Bishop Gabriel Yemba Unda and other church leaders are urging peace and the protection of humanitarian structures.
Staff at two United Methodist medical facilities are picking up the pieces after violent attacks by armed gunmen in eastern Congo.
The storming of the church’s Irambo Health Center in Bukavu and Majengo Health Center in Goma on March 18 and 19, respectively, comes amid growing insecurity in the region, exacerbated by the capture of those towns by the Rwanda-backed M23 rebels.
At Irambo, a nurse was sexually assaulted and another was beaten during the attack, according to Dr. Jimmy Kasongo, medical director of the health center. Medicine and money also were stolen. This is the second time in a month that the hospital was ransacked. In February, armed rebels vandalized the center, damaging equipment and infrastructure.
According to Kasongo, armed men entered Irambo late on March 18 under the pretext of accompanying a patient. “Once the sentry (security guard) was convinced of their good faith, they revealed their criminal intentions,” he said. “The situation became serious when one of the assailants drew a weapon. The sentry was assaulted, as was the nurse on duty.”
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The United Methodist Board of Global Ministries has an Advance fund to support mission work in the East Congo where there is the greatest need.
Two staff members also were among the victims.
“Several patients, staff and companions were left in a state of deep trauma,” Kasongo said.
The nurse on duty, Bienfait Kabeya Ntumba, was among those attacked. He was transferred to Bukavu General Hospital, a public facility run by the Congolese government, for treatment.
“I thank God, because I’m alive,” Ntumba said.
The gunmen also looted the hospital’s medicine supplies and stole patients’ personal belongings, including telephones, clothes and watches. Material damage included three damaged doors. More than $4,500 dollars and 789,200 Congolese francs were stolen, compromising essential funds for hospital services.
“The funds for transporting people living with HIV, those of the community relays for five months, the cooks’ salary envelope, the hospital fund, the hospital investment fund and other internal accounts” were stolen, Kasongo said. “As banks don’t work, all this money was kept at the hospital.”
Sandra Bontamba, pharmacist at the Irambo Health Center, said the attack came 24 hours after the hospital received essential medicines. “I regret in the sense that even the stock of medicines that the hospital stocked up on yesterday was taken away,” Bontamba said.
Noting the other recent attack, Bontamba said the new episode hampers recovery. “We’ve just gone backwards again,” she said.
At Majengo, the armed men stole patients’ telephones and the supervisor’s motorcycle, said the attending nurse, Leonard Shako Telonga.
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Telonga said that at around 3 p.m. on March 19, armed robbers broke into the facility. “More alarmingly, the assailants said they were looking for the hospital’s attending nurse and doctor, suggesting a targeted intent,” Telonga said.
The Rev. Badeux M’munga of Ibanda United Methodist Church said local churches also are seeing the impact of the insecurity. United Methodist churches in Kadutu and Panzi Penuel had sound equipment and generators stolen. The security situation prevented the Bukavu churches from holding worship for four weeks, prompting United Methodist leaders to use social networks to continue evangelizing and delivering messages of hope.
The repeated attacks on United Methodist health institutions and sanctuaries are causing great concern within the church. United Methodist Bishop Gabriel Yemba Unda condemned the acts.
“It is unacceptable that the church, in its role of humanitarian aid, should be the victim of such atrocities,” he said.
He urged the local authorities to ensure the safety of the population and their property, while calling on the international community to intensify its efforts to restore peace in the region.
The Rev. Henry Jean Robert Kasongo Numbize, Goma District superintendent, stressed the challenges the church faces amid the insecurity.
“We still have a big job to do evangelizing all these thieving people,” Numbize said. “This is how we pray for peace so that we can get to work.”
The events underline the vulnerability of health care structures and the constant threat faced by those working to serve communities in conflict zones. They illustrate the urgency of resolving armed conflicts and protecting humanitarian institutions, he said.
Bishop Unda said the church has an important role to play in eastern Congo.
“The United Methodist Church, through its medical structures, plays a crucial role in providing care and support to the population,” he said, “and these attacks are a major hindrance to the church’s social mission.”
Kituka Lolonga is a communicator for the Kivu Conference.
News media contact: Julie Dwyer at (615) 742-5470 or newsdesk@umnews.org. To read more United Methodist news, subscribe to the free UM News Digests.
