ITURI, 13 March, 2020 / 2:26 am (ACI Africa).
Following an attack on a Catholic Priest of the Democratic Republic of Congo’s (DRC) Bunia diocese in the region of Ituri, the Diocesan Curia has condemned the incident, calling on the authorities to hasten the investigation process and bring the perpetrators to book.
“The Diocesan Curia of Bunia strongly condemns this attack against the person of Father Guy-Robert Mandro, Parish Priest of the Immaculate Heart Parish of Fataki and asks the competent authorities to quickly carry out an investigation so that those guilty of this crime can be found and punished according to the law,” reads the letter shared with ACI Africa Wednesday, March 11.
Fr. Mandro was heading to Kondoni village, which neighbours his Fataki parish, on a motorcycle on the morning of Monday, March 9 to ascertain the “persistent rumors of a possible attack” when a group of assailants, armed with machetes, attacked him.
The attackers were later joined by another group with firearms, according to reports.
“Fataki Parish has been living in the fear of a possible attack by CODECO's (Cooperative for the Development of DRC) assailants for some time,” reads the statement adding, “as a good shepherd, after the morning mass, the Parish Priest wanted to be sure by going on a motorcycle to inquire about the situation towards the village of Kondoni.”