Authorities in Democratic Republic of Congo say Dr. Oly Ilunga, former head of the Ministry of Health and its Ebola response, was taken into custody on Saturday as police sought to stop him from leaving the country through neighboring Brazzaville. The former minister’s detention follows initial hearings on alleged financial…
United Nations Secretary General António Guterres completed a three-day visit to Democratic Republic of Congo with expressions of confidence in the newly formed government and optimism that President Felix Tshisekedi and the country will meet their significant challenges. The Congolese will see “a government that wants to transform the country,…
The World Health Organization says that two of the four Ebola treatment drugs tested in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) are performing better than the others, and will be the only drugs used on future patients as the country moves forward in its yearlong outbreak. The decision to…
With the Ebola crisis continuing in the Democratic Republic of Congo, and amid global calls for a “reset” on the international response, top officials will gather in Geneva on Monday for a high-level meeting organized jointly by the World Health Organization and the United Nations Office for the Coordination of…
The death toll in Democratic Republic of Congo’s Ebola outbreak now has passed the 1,500 mark, according to the Ministry of Health’s latest update. They include 39 fatalities among 122 health worker cases, three of them in the Lubero health district of North Kivu province – a community that’s seen…
The Ebola outbreak in Democratic Republic of Congo has reached a new milestone, as the number of fatalities reached 1,008 people, according to the Congolese Ministry of Health on Friday. The death toll rose by a sobering 108 victims in a single week. “The frequent armed attacks disrupt our operations,” explained WHO…
Laureen is the editor of Africa Times
Democratic Republic of Congo is moving beyond the contentious December 30 election that put President Felix Tshisekedi in power – but not everywhere, and opposition candidate Martin Fayulu and his supporters still refuse to accept results that many believe denied him as the rightful winner. Fayulu, the Engagement for Citizenship…
A United Nations investigation into reported massacres in western Democratic Republic of the Congo confirms at least 535 civilians died in four separate attacks in Mai-Ndombe province in December. “The team identified a total of 59 burial sites in two of the attacked towns, but do not rule out more…
The federal prosecutor in Belgium has asked for DNA samples from about 15 Congolese children who were adopted by families there, but who may still have living parents in DR Congo who never willingly placed them for adoption. It’s the latest development in a case Belgian authorities and media outlets…
A Congolese boy who traveled to the United States for medical care – capturing many hearts along the way – has left a few of them broken, on the news that he died during complications in surgery on Friday. Matadi Sela Petit, an 8-year-old from Kinshasa, was born with a…
The United States embassy in Kinshasa reopened on Tuesday, after closing its doors in response to a terror threat for more than a week. Embassy staff first announced the threat on November 24, and said the closure was effective the following Monday. The threat, based on what they described as “credible…
The Congolese mining entity Gécamines issued a scathing rebuke to international NGOs on Wednesday, with a report that seeks to debunk the years of allegations about corruption and missing millions. The 60-page report begins with an introduction from Albert Yuma-Mulimbi, a close ally of outgoing President Joseph Kabila and the…
Six people were killed Sunday in Kinshasa, as security forces shut down protest marches against President Joseph Kabila’s government organized by lay leaders of the Democratic Republic of Congo’s Roman Catholic churches. Florence Marchal, a spokeswoman for the United Nations mission there, told MONUSCO-affiliated Radio Okapi that there also were…
In Democratic Republic of Congo, the Roman Catholic community leaders planning a peaceful march on Sunday say they will go ahead with the protest despite a lack of approval from Kinshasa authorities. The Comité Laïc de Coordination (CLC) said Friday that “Christians, believers and men and women of goodwill” from all walks…
The Roman Catholic bishops who helped negotiate last year’s December 31 agreement on new elections in Democratic Republic of Congo have called on President Joseph Kabila to make clear he will not seek a third term. The National Episcopal Conference of Congo (CENCO) bishops released their statement during a press…