“Together with Bishop, we narrowly escaped death”: Priest in DR Congo Recounts Robbery Incident at Bishop’s Residence

Kinshasa, 25 February, 2025 / 9:47 AM

Bishop Sébastien Joseph Muyengo Mulombe of the Catholic Diocese of Uvira in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and two Catholic Priests were robbed of their valuables in an armed attack involving suspected members of the Armed Forces of the Central African nation (FARDC).

According to a February 21 report, Bishop Muyengo, Fr. Bernard Kalolero and Fr. Ricardo Mukuninwa “narrowly escaped death” when the suspected FARDC soldiers forcefully accessed the Bishop’s residence on February 20 “morning at 8:30 a.m.”

In the Information service of Propaganda Fide, Agenzia Fides, report, Fr. Ricardo is quoted explaining how the three suspected FARDC soldiers in uniform, speaking Tshiluba, a language spoken in West Kasai and East Kasai, two provinces in the Central western part of DRC accessed the Bishop’s residence by scaring away the security guard.

“I went out to ask the soldiers about the situation, but they pointed their guns at all of us and threw us to the ground along with the Bishop. They robbed us, taking money, phones, and other belongings,” Fr. Ricardo is quoted as saying.

After the robbery, Fr. Ricardo explains further, “they then locked us in our rooms and threatened to kill us at the slightest gesture so that they could search the whole house.”

“Thank God, they left, and we are still alive. The Missionary Sisters of Jesus Emmanuel came to our house without knowing what happened and this is the only way we can communicate the incident. We are currently unreachable on our mobile phones,” he says.

The Congolese Provinces of North Kivu and South Kivu are experiencing a heavy presence of March 23 Movement (M23) rebels. Reportedly supported by neighbouring Rwanda, and a section of the Congolese armed forces, the M23 has taken important cities and outposts in the region, including Goma and Bukavu amid heavy fighting.

On January 27, the Rwandan-backed March 23 Movement (M23) rebels announced that its forces had taken over the capital of the Eastern Province of the DRC, Goma, Reuters reported.

On February 16, M23 rebels reportedly captured the second-largest city of Eastern DRC, Bukavu, Reuters reported.

The latest reports about the protracted crisis in mineral-rich East of the DR Congo indicate that over 7,000 people have been killed since the crisis intensified in January amid other dehumanizing atrocities. Some 70 bodies were found inside a church building.

In another Agenzia Fides report, Catholic Nuns and a Chaplain have been hailed for preventing a prison in South Kivu from completely burning down. The prison reportedly fell into the hands of the M23 militias on February 16.

According to the February 20 report, a source from the local Church in Bukavu, the capital of the South Kivu Province, is quoted saying, “It is thanks to the Chaplain and some Nuns that the prison was not completely burned down.”

The anonymous source says that the FARDC soldiers looted the city as they fled from the approaching M23 rebels and that “the prison was also the target of looting”.

“Only the intervention of the Chaplain, assisted by some Nuns, prevented the flames from destroying the prison. The prison Chapel was also looted, but the Priest managed to prevent its destruction,” the source further told Agenzia Fides.