DR Congo police fire warning shots in burial dispute after suspected Ebola death

Residents set fire to tents at an Ebola centre in Rwampara after a victim’s family were stopped from retrieving his body for burial

Police fired warning shots and tear gas ⁠as part of a dispute in northeastern DR Congo over the burial of a suspected Ebola victim, a footballer who played for local teams, that saw protesters burn down tents for Ebola patients, Reuters witnesses said.

The incident highlighted the struggle Congolese authorities could face to enforce the safe burials of people with confirmed and suspected cases that are required to help contain the outbreak.

It took place in the town ‌of Rwampara, which has been hit hard by the latest Ebola outbreak caused by the Bundibugyo strain of Ebola, for which there is no approved vaccine or treatment.

Bodies of Ebola victims are highly infectious after death, and unsafe burials – in which family members handle the body without proper protective equipment – are a leading driver of transmission.

The first known case in the current outbreak died in Bunia, Ituri’s provincial capital, on April 24 and the virus spread after his body was returned home to the nearby town of Mongbwalu and mourners gathered around him and touched him during a funeral.

On Thursday morning, the family of footballer Eli Munongo Wangu refused a safe burial for him, disputed that the virus had killed him and demanded to ‌take his body, the Reuters witnesses said.