An African priest in Uganda was murdered in cold blood by pagans, after he exposed the evils of the governments of Congo and Uganda. It is said that before his martyrdom he said,
I will be murdered, I feel it […] but like Christ, for the sake of our people, I will not be silent
A Congolese priest dedicated to revealing human rights abuses in his country was gunned down this week by armed militants.
Father Vincent Machozi Karunzu, a native of the Democratic Republic of Congo who studied at Boston University’s school of theology, was killed by members of the country’s armed forces in the North Kivu province on Sunday evening.
As the Catholic News Agency reports, shortly before being gunned down, Machozi asked the gunmen, “Why are you killing?”
According to Vatican Radio, Machozi, who belonged to the Augustinians of the Assumption religious order, was killed shortly after he published an article criticizing the Congolese and Rwandan governments for human rights abuses against its citizens.
Specifically, a recent article from the priest had accused the local Hutus people of plotting with the Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Congo to murder the local Nindu population.
Boston University also announced the priest’s death on its website, with the university’s African Studies Center director Timothy Longman, who was a colleague of Machozi, saying that the priest was dedicated to revealing human rights abuses in his home country.
“He was trying to show the world who was killed and who was responsible,” Longman, who also serves as a College of Arts & Sciences associate professor of political science, said in a statement. “He wasn’t on any particular side.”
Theodere Sikuli, mayor of the North Kivu province, told Bloomberg this week that local authorities are still investigating the priest’s death.
Machozi had studied for his theology degree at Boston University after facing multiple attempts on his life in his home country.
As Crux News reports, the Rev. Emmanuel Kahindo, who serves as vicar general for the Assumptionist religious order, says that Machozi communicated his fears for his life to him last October.
“My days are numbered. I will be murdered, I feel it […] but like Christ, for the sake of our people, I will not be silent,” Kahindo quotes Machozi as saying.