Pastor killed in DR Congo post-election violence

Wednesday, December 14, 2011

KINSHASA, DR Congo (AFP) — The DR Congo's justice minister said yesterday that a pastor at the Kimbanguist church had been killed in a wave of violence against the denomination, which is supportive of President Joseph Kabila.

Minister Emmanuel Luzolo Bambi said the church had been targeted for attack since Kabila was declared the winner of the country's November 28 elections, a result that sparked violent protests and looting in Kinshasa, a stronghold of veteran opposition leader Etienne Tshisekedi.

"Several members of the church have been victims of violence ... that caused the death of a man, Reverend Pastor Mbumba Tusevo," Bambi said, without giving details on the incident.

"This is a hunt or a targeted attack against members of the Kimbanguist church, allegedly for having supported the president."

He said at least five of the African Christian denomination's churches had been looted or had their roofs destroyed during unrest in the capital Friday and Saturday after the announcement of Kabila's re-election.

Two affiliated schools and a hospital were also targeted and three people were badly wounded, he said.

The church was founded by Simon Kimbangu in 1921 in what was then the Belgian Congo. Its more than 10 million members in the Democratic Republic of Congo believe Kimbangu was a prophet.

The ruling coalition and the opposition have traded accusations of violence throughout the tumultuous period around the elections, whose outcome several opposition candidates, including Tshisekedi, have rejected as fraudulent.

According to Human Rights Watch, at least 18 civilians were killed on the last day of the campaign and on voting day, most shot by Kabila's presidential guard.

Police said that at least four people died in the unrest in Kinshasa following the result announcement -- three alleged looters shot by security forces and a woman hit by a stray bullet.