Residents burn Ebola tents after hospital refuses release of victim’s body

By Enitan Abdultawab

In eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo, residents set fire to parts of an Ebola isolation facility after a hospital declined to release the body of a man suspected of dying from the virus.

A BBC report said the incident occurred at Rwampara General Hospital near Bunia in Ituri province, the centre of the current outbreak. Relatives and supporters of the deceased tried to retrieve his body for burial but were denied access by health authorities.

Police reportedly fired warning shots as tensions rose and violence erupted at the facility.

Health officials explained that Ebola victims must undergo controlled burials because their bodies remain highly infectious and can continue to spread the disease after death.

Following the attack, medical staff at the hospital were placed under military protection while security teams moved in to restore calm.

Jean Claude Mukendi, coordinator of the Ebola security response in Ituri, said many residents were struggling to accept the reality of the outbreak.

The deceased, reportedly a local footballer who played for several community teams, was said to have died of typhoid fever according to his mother, who rejected claims that he had contracted Ebola.

Local politician Luc Malembe Malembe blamed the violence on misinformation and a lack of awareness about the disease.

“People are not properly informed or sensitised about what is happening. For a certain segment of the population, especially in remote areas, Ebola is an invention by outsiders—it does not exist,” he said.

“They believe NGOs and hospitals created this to make money, and this is tragic.”

He added that two isolation tents, one of which contained a body awaiting burial, were destroyed in the fire.

Thérèse Kayikwamba Wagner described the situation as “very frightening” for affected communities, noting that authorities were intensifying efforts to ensure residents feel “safe, understood and heard.”

The World Health Organization has recommended “safe and dignified burials” for Ebola victims, with specially trained teams handling bodies using protective gear.

On Friday, WHO raised the Ebola outbreak risk in DR Congo to “very high” at the national level.

WHO Director‑General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said the country has recorded about 750 suspected cases and 177 suspected deaths linked to the outbreak.

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