Assassination attempt on anti-rape doctor raises fears for aid workers in Congo
Dr. Dennis Mukwege recently spoke out at the United Nations General Assembly about the prevalence of rape in the war-torn Democratic Republic of Congo.
Dr. Denis Mukwege in 2008 with a rape victim.
Scott Baldauf/The Christian Science Monitor/File
Nairobi, Kenya
A Congolese doctor praised for aiding female rape victims survived an assassination attempt and on Saturday was evacuated amid growing safety concerns for aid workers and rights activists in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).
Four gunmen had entered Dr. Dennis Mukwege’s house in Bukavu on Thursday evening and forced his two daughters and their friend to sit silently on the floor, at gun point, until he returned home, according to the PMU, a Swedish religious organization which works with a hospital founded by the doctor.
The men forced the gynecologist out of his car on arrival and shot dead a security guard who tried to intervene. The doctor ducked when the armed men fired at him, before driving off in his car, which was found abandoned soon after.
“We believe it was an assassination attempt directly related to Dr. Mukwege’s advocacy work highlighting violence and rape in Eastern Congo. Only last month Dr. Mukwege was at the UN to give a speech outlining the increasing levels of rape and called for perpetrators to be brought to justice ,” says Zuzia Danielski of the International Campaign to Stop Rape and Gender Violence in Conflict.
