August 20, 2014 – LUBANATION.COM

Etienne Tshisekedi

Etienne Tshisekedi wa Mulumba is the cofounder and chairman of Union pour la Démocratie et le Progrès Social (UDPS), roughly since 90s. Born in 1932, in his 80s, the Sphinx of Limete is undergoing health challenges to the extent that this morning he flew to Brussels for undertaking specific treatment due probably to diabetic complications. As a chairman of the main opposition party in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), his absence or the inability to regularly running the party may constitute a blow not only to the UDPS as well as to the radical opposition umbrella in general.

Since 1990, Tshisekedi stood as the leading opposition figure that strongly fought for democracy especially during the earlier period of initiating political pluralism and democracy in the former Zaire. He continued his democracy struggle until recently culminating to the unilaterally sworn in ceremony as an elected president during the…

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August 20, 2014August 25, 2014 Clarisse Reblogs

Congo’s Resilient Women

WEZESHA

Resilience has taken on new meaning in Congo. In the U.S., we use the word resilience to describe someone who has made something of their life after a hard childhood, or managed to recover after a deep personal loss, or has endured a difficult situation. All of these scenarios can be painful and deeply troubling, but in Congo, the word resilience means something else entirely. Today, I heard a story so horrific that it is hard to write the words. Katrina* was raped by members of an armed group after her husband was killed. She was then forced to eat his genitals while her two young daughters were raped. Her family abandoned her, calling her a “sorceress” and blaming her for the attacks. She was left alone to care for her two daughters who became pregnant as a result of the rapes. Katrina’s story is beyond my comprehension. Despite the unimaginable…

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August 20, 2014August 27, 2014 Clarisse Reblogs

Illness With Ebola-like Symptoms Kills Several In Congo: Locals

Welcome To Johnson Akoja's Blog

Democratic Republic of Congo has sent its health minister and a team of experts to the remote northern Equateur province after several people died there from a disease with Ebola-like symptoms, a local official and a professor said on Wednesday.

It was not immediately clear if there was any connection with Ebola. An epidemic of that disease has killed more than 1,200 people in Guinea, Liberia, Sierra Leone and Nigeria.

“An illness is spreading in Boende but we don’t know the origin,” said Michel Wangi, a spokesman for the governor’s office. “The government has sent a team of experts from the INRB(National Institute of Biomedical Research) this morning led by the health minister (Felix) Kabange Numbi and acting governor Sebastian Impeto.”

A professor accompanying the delegation in the presidential plane confirmed that they were en route this morning to find out “the exact nature of the illness that caused…

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