CONGOLESE SOLDIER KILLED AND DISMEMBERED BY COMRADES OVER BANYAMULENGE ETHNICITY
Lieutenant Innocent Muhuza, a member of the Banyamulenge ethnic group and a soldier in the Democratic Republic of Congo’s armed forces (FARDC), was found dead in Uvira territory, South Kivu province, reportedly killed by fellow soldiers due to his ethnicity, local sources confirm.
According to a voice message circulating in the region, Muhuza was brutally murdered and dismembered after being derogatorily labeled a “Rwandan” by his comrades. The message states, “They killed Muhuza. Shockingly, they dismembered him like one would cut a banana. They were calling him Rwandan.”
The incident occurred in Luvungi, in the Kibaya area of Rusizi, Uvira territory. The voice message further reveals, “We found where they dismembered him in Luvungi, Kibaya, Rusizi. He was killed on Sunday, and his body was discovered on Tuesday.”
Muhuza, a son of Burayi from the Abasinzira Clan of the Bayira House, was stationed in Luvungi as part of the Cadre battalion. This killing marks a continuation of ethnically motivated violence against Banyamulenge soldiers within the FARDC. Reports indicate that such attacks have persisted since 1998, when over 100 Banyamulenge soldiers were executed in Kinshasa. In recent years, these incidents have escalated, with victims being stabbed, burned, or buried alive.
