Kinshasa, 21 July, 2023 / 9:45 pm (ACI Africa).
Fridolin Cardinal Ambongo has denounced the murder of Chérubin Okende, the spokesman of Together for the Republic, one of the main opposition parties in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).
Mr. Okende, a former Minister and Member of Parliament (MP), was found dead on July 13 in Kinshasa, his body riddled with bullets, Reuters reported.
In his homily during Holy Mass in honor of the late politician on Wednesday, July 19, Cardinal Ambongo said that “no nation can be built on assassinations and murders.”
“Till date the circumstances of his murder remain unknown,” he further said, and lamented, “To see a family man and a high-ranking official in this country gunned down in such an ignominious and cowardly manner is horrifying.”
The Archbishop of Kinshasa continued, “In a country where human dignity has no value, in a country where human rights don't count, that country is heading straight for ruin.”