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Photograph: Gradel Muyisa Mumbere/Reuters     (drc-politician-beaten-death-radio-appearance-ebola.html#img-1)   View image in fullscreen       Health workers at an Ebola treatment centre in Butembo, where mistrust of the response to the outbreak has fuelled a series of attacks. Photograph: Gradel Muyisa Mumbere/Reuters       (https://www.theguardian.com/world/ebola) Ebola     DRC politician beaten to death after radio appearance about Ebola outbreak   Marie-Celestin Karondwa was attacked on Sunday after promoting measures to prevent spread of disease, his party says          (https://www.theguardian.com/profile/carlos-mureithi) Carlos Mureithi in Nairobi and agencies   Mon 28 Sep 2026 11.54 EDT  Last modified on Mon 28 Sep 2026 14.22 EDT   (mailto:?subject=DRC politician beaten to death after radio appearance about Ebola outbreak&body=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2026/sep/28/drc-politician-beaten-death-radio-appearance-ebola?CMP=share_btn_url) Share          (https://www.google.com/preferences/source?q=theguardian.com) Prefer the Guardian on Google          A senior member of the Democratic Republic of the Congo’s ruling party was beaten to death on Sunday after appearing on a radio programme to raise awareness about the Ebola outbreak, a party representative has said. Marie-Celestin Karondwa, the acting president of the Union for Democracy and Social Progress (UDPS) party’s federal executive committee in Butembo, a new hotspot for the outbreak, was attacked after taking part in a ​radio show during which he ‌promoted prevention measures for the disease, ‌the UDPS federation in the city said in a statement, Reuters reported.  The party ‌said the attackers beat Karondwa, stole his belongings and set his house on fire, and that he later died from his injuries. It was not immediately clear who carried out the attack, how many people were involved or what motivated it, but the party said Karondwa was “an innocent victim for having defended ‌the party’s position on the existence of the (https://www.theguardian.com/world/ebola) Ebola virus disease … and the threat it poses to ​the population”. Karondwa’s death comes after a series of attacks on healthcare workers and treatment centres that experts say are fuelled by rumours and misinformation about the disease and distrust of health responders. The incidents have included violence, riots and property damage and the disruption of essential services. On Saturday, ​armed men attacked a hand-washing ​checkpoint in the nearby Beni territory, killing at least one ​person and wounding ‌several others, a ​local civil ​society group reported. First identified in 1976 in what is now the DRC, Ebola is a highly contagious and often fatal viral disease that affects humans and non-human primates. It spreads through body fluids or contaminated materials and causes organ damage, blood vessel impairment and sometimes severe internal and external bleeding. The current outbreak is caused by the rare Bundibugyo virus, which has no approved treatment or vaccine. It was first announced on 15 May and has infected 8,067 people and killed 3,901, according to data from the DRC’s health ministry. Cases of the disease have been confirmed in seven provinces. The outbreak is the largest and deadliest in the DRC’s history and second only ​globally to ​the 2014-16 outbreak in west (https://www.theguardian.com/world/africa) Africa , which infected ​more than ‌28,600 people ​and ​killed more than 11,000. Data from the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention shows the current outbreak has outpaced the west African one. Last month, the World Health Organization warned it was on track to surpass the west Africa outbreak. Experts say the spread of the disease has been (https://www.theguardian.com/world/2026/jul/10/visualised-how-conflict-aid-cuts-and-health-worker-attacks-are-helping-ebola-spread-in-drc) intensified by several factors , including conflict, aid cuts and the attacks on healthcare workers and treatment centres. Reuters contributed to this report          Explore more on these topics (https://www.theguardian.com/world/ebola) Ebola  (https://www.theguardian.com/world/congo) Democratic Republic of the Congo  (https://www.theguardian.com/world/world-health-organization) World Health Organization  (https://www.theguardian.com/global-development/global-health) Global health  (https://www.theguardian.com/society/health) Health  (https://www.theguardian.com/world/africa) Africa  (https://www.theguardian.com/tone/news) news    (mailto:?subject=DRC politician beaten to death after radio appearance about Ebola outbreak&body=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2026/sep/28/drc-politician-beaten-death-radio-appearance-ebola?CMP=share_btn_url) Share     (https://syndication.theguardian.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.theguardian.com%2Fworld%2F2026%2Fsep%2F28%2Fdrc-politician-beaten-death-radio-appearance-ebola&type=article&internalpagecode=world/2026/sep/28/drc-politician-beaten-death-radio-appearance-ebola) (Reuse this content) Reuse this content                  More on this story                        More on this story                       (https://www.theguardian.com/world/2026/aug/22/ebola-drc-democratic-republic-congo-health-workers-unpaid-wages)    ()      Ebola frontline workers missing wages as outbreak spreads ‘exponentially’   (Saturday, August 22, 2026 at 05:00 AM Eastern Daylight Time) 22 Aug 2026           (https://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2026/aug/21/ebola-outbreak-five-big-questions)    ()      Ebola outbreak: five big questions    (Friday, August 21, 2026 at 05:02 AM Eastern Daylight Time) 21 Aug 2026           (https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2026/aug/19/the-guardian-view-on-the-ebola-outbreak-in-the-drc-a-case-study-in-why-international-aid-matters)    ()      double quotation mark   The Guardian view on the Ebola outbreak in the DRC: a case study in why international aid matters   (Wednesday, August 19, 2026 at 01:59 PM Eastern Daylight Time) 19 Aug 2026           (https://www.theguardian.com/world/2026/may/17/what-is-ebola-why-who-says-drc-uganda-outbreak-global-health-emergency)    ()      What is Ebola and why is the outbreak in DRC causing so much concern?   (Monday, August 17, 2026 at 11:17 AM Eastern Daylight Time) 17 Aug 2026           (https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2026/aug/17/ebola-kills-thousands-drc-perfect-storm-virus)    ()      double quotation mark   As Ebola kills thousands in DRC, a perfect storm is making the virus hard to stop   (Monday, August 17, 2026 at 09:15 AM Eastern Daylight Time) 17 Aug 2026  (https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2026/aug/17/ebola-kills-thousands-drc-perfect-storm-virus#comments)    … … comments            (https://www.theguardian.com/world/2026/aug/17/ebola-outbreak-drc-democratic-republic-of-congo-deadliest-in-history)    ()      Ebola outbreak in Democratic Republic of the Congo now deadliest in country’s history   (Monday, August 17, 2026 at 10:07 AM Eastern Daylight Time) 17 Aug 2026           (https://www.theguardian.com/world/2026/aug/13/ebola-drc-democratic-republic-congo-sixth-province)    ()      DRC’s fast-growing Ebola outbreak spreads to sixth province   (Thursday, August 13, 2026 at 11:17 AM Eastern Daylight Time) 13 Aug 2026           (https://www.theguardian.com/world/2026/aug/06/ebola-virus-drc-mutating)    ()      Ebola virus behind massive outbreak in DRC could be mutating, officials say   (Thursday, August 6, 2026 at 12:18 PM Eastern Daylight Time) 6 Aug 2026           (https://www.theguardian.com/world/2026/jul/21/health-worker-being-monitored-for-ebola-in-london-hospital-after-working-in-drc)    ()      Health worker monitored for Ebola in London hospital after working in DRC   (Tuesday, July 21, 2026 at 06:39 PM Eastern Daylight Time) 21 Jul 2026           (https://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2026/jul/31/ebola-outbreak-in-drc-the-fastest-growing-in-the-history-of-the-virus)    ()      Ebola outbreak in DRC the fastest growing in the history of the virus   (Friday, July 31, 2026 at 04:00 AM Eastern Daylight Time) 31 Jul 2026                        Most viewed      Most viewed                                                               (https://www.theguardian.com/world) World  (https://www.theguardian.com/world/europe-news) Europe  (https://www.theguardian.com/us-news) US news  (https://www.theguardian.com/world/americas) Americas  (https://www.theguardian.com/world/asia) Asia  (https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news) Australia  (https://www.theguardian.com/world/middleeast) Middle East  (https://www.theguardian.com/world/africa) Africa   (https://www.theguardian.com/inequality) Inequality  (https://www.theguardian.com/global-development) Global development       (https://www.theguardian.com/) News  (https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree) Opinion  (https://www.theguardian.com/sport) Sport  (https://www.theguardian.com/culture) Culture  (https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle) Lifestyle    Original reporting and incisive analysis, direct from the Guardian every morning (https://www.theguardian.com/info/2018/sep/17/guardian-us-morning-briefing-sign-up-to-stay-informed) Sign up for our email     (https://www.theguardian.com/info/about-guardian-us) About us  (https://manage.theguardian.com/help-centre) Help  (https://www.theguardian.com/info/complaints-and-corrections) Complaints & corrections  (https://www.theguardian.com/info/about-guardian-us/contact) Contact us  (https://www.theguardian.com/tips) Tip us off  (https://www.theguardian.com/securedrop) SecureDrop  (https://www.theguardian.com/info/privacy) Privacy policy  (https://www.theguardian.com/info/cookies) Cookie policy  (https://uploads.guim.co.uk/2026/07/22/STL_Global_Tax_Strategy_for_the_year_to_31_March_2027.pdf) Tax strategy  (https://www.theguardian.com/help/terms-of-service) Terms & conditions   (https://www.theguardian.com/index/subjects/a) All topics  (https://www.theguardian.com/index/contributors) All writers  (https://www.theguardian.com/email-newsletters?INTCMP=DOTCOM_FOOTER_NEWSLETTER_US) Newsletters  (https://theguardian.newspapers.com) Digital newspaper archive  (https://bsky.app/profile/us.theguardian.com) Bluesky  (https://www.facebook.com/theguardian) Facebook  (https://www.instagram.com/guardian) Instagram  (https://www.linkedin.com/company/theguardian) LinkedIn  (https://www.threads.com/@guardian_us) Threads  (https://www.tiktok.com/@guardian) TikTok  (https://www.youtube.com/user/TheGuardian) YouTube   (https://usadvertising.theguardian.com) Advertise with us  (https://www.theguardian.com/guardian-labs-us) Guardian Labs  (https://jobs.theguardian.com) Search jobs  (https://workwithus.theguardian.com/) Work with us  (https://www.theguardian.com/help/accessibility-help) Accessibility settings         (drc-politician-beaten-death-radio-appearance-ebola.html#top) Back to top      © 2026Guardian News & Media Limited or its affiliated companies. 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