AFRICA/CONGO DR - Missionary tells Fides: Director of “The Voice of the Voiceless” was “one of the most committed human rights activists”

Kinshasa (Agenzia Fides) - "Floribert Chebeya was one of the most committed human rights activists and had received threats for some time," Fides learned from Fr. Loris Cattani, Xaverian Missionary working on the “Network for Peace in Congo.”
Floribert Chebeya, age 47, President of the NGO “Voice of the Voiceless,” (VSV) disappeared the evening of June 1, along with his driver in Kinshasa, capital of Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), after he went to the headquarters of the Inspectorate General of the Congolese National Police where he was supposed to, according to reports from VSV, meet with the Chief Inspector, General John Numb. Chebeya's body was found the night between June 2-3 in the back seat of his car, abandoned on a road west of Kinshasa had his hands handcuffed behind his back and his trousers down to his knees. His driver was also found dead on June 3 in another area of Kinshasa.
The circumstances of his death are still unclear. "The fact that he was convened by the National Police's Chief Inspector suggests that Chebeya must have gone to discuss a sensitive issue. We know that Chebeya was to present a report on the condition of local prisons," said Fr. Cattani.
"One or two years ago, Chebeya was arrested by the Congolese authorities for protesting against the the DRC's contract with a major French multinational company for the exploitation of uranium mines in Katanga. Chebeya criticized the contract because the company, he said, had been responsible for serious human rights violations and had caused massive environmental damage in other countries, mainly in Niger,” recalls the missionary.
"Chebeya was originally from South Kivu, in the eastern DRC. I do not know whether this can be related with his murder. Certainly, he had good contacts to know what happens in that area, where several armed groups continue to commit crimes against civilians," concludes PM Cattani.
In a note sent to Fides, the Congolese Bishops' Conference (CENCO) "strongly condemns the ruthless murder of a person whose life has been generously devoted to human rights in our country." The CENCO, the note continues, "demands and anxiously awaits a credible government investigation to identify the perpetrators and instigators of this despicable act, so that justice is done. Because it is impossible to build a democratic state while silencing the voices of those who defend human rights."
The Bishops expressed their condolences to the victim's family and their closeness to "all human rights activists, encouraging them to continue their noble mission."
The UN and the European Union have demanded that the Congolese government conduct an "independent and impartial investigation" into the death of the VSV President. (LM) (Agenzia Fides 06/04/2010)