wfn.org | Armed militia storm Bukavu bishop's home at night

[Worldwide Faith News <wfn@igc.org>]

Armed militia storm Bukavu bishop's home at night

Posted On : April 13, 2010 1:23 PM | Posted By : Webmaster
ACNS: http://www.aco.org/acns/news.cfm/2010/4/13/ACNS4698
Related Categories: Congo

A group of unidentified gunmen forced their way into the home of 
Congolese Bishop Sylvestre Bali-Busane Bahati of the Diocese of 
Bukavu during the early hours of April 9, looting the property and 
leaving with money, clothes and electronic equipment.

The bishop was unharmed, but the gunmen tied up his eldest son 
insisting they be directed to him, according to an e-mail sent from 
Bahati to church partners. The gunmen also assaulted the security man on duty.

According to the e-mail, the gunmen said they had been paid US$20,000 
"to assassinate the Anglican bishop of Bukavu diocese."

When the bishop pleaded with the gunmen not to kill him, they 
requested money, which Bahati gave them, the e-mail said.

Bahati didn't disclose the amount in his e-mail, and couldn't be 
reached for further comment.

The Rev. Jean-Paul Muhindo Matabaro, in an e-mail to church partners, 
said that Bahati isn't the first church leader to be targeted in this way.

In November 2009, the Roman Catholic Church in Kabare lost a priest, 
a nun and two lay people in a similar attack, he said. "Daily, there 
is mourning and sorrow in the communities of South Kivu and North 
Kivu provinces because of killings and looting," Matabaro said, 
noting that such attacks have resulted in the displacement of 
thousands of people.

Matabaro urged the local political authorities and the United Nations 
Mission in the Congo to find a way to ensure peace and security in 
the North and South Kivu provinces and throughout the whole country. 
"We also request our brothers and sisters who read this sad news to 
pray for Bishop Bahati's family and the Diocese of Bukavu who are 
often victims of atrocities from the militias," said Matabaro.

Bahati has served as the bishop of Bukavu since December 2006.

The Anglican presence in the Congo, formerly known as Zaire, was 
established by Ugandan evangelist Apolo Kivebulaya in 1896. Following 
independence in 1960, the church expanded and formed dioceses as part 
of the Province of Uganda, Burundi, Rwanda, and Boa-Zaire. The new 
province was inaugurated in 1992 and changed its name in 1997.

The civil war and ethnic strife in the Congo has claimed four million 
lives since 1994 and is widely recognized as the bloodiest conflict 
since World War II.

Today, a lack of resources in the Congo prevents the Anglican 
province from being financially independent and self-supporting, and 
many of the church's clergy and bishops survive without a salary.

> Article from: ENS by Matthew Davies