The funeral of the opponent Chérubin Okende, found dead on July 13, 2023 in Kinshasa, is finally being held eight months later and without official tribute. Congolese justice concluded it was suicide, a theory contested by those close to him.
1 min
With our correspondent in Kinshasa, Pascal Mulegwa
Cherub Okende was a devout Catholic. It was therefore the parish priest, Father Ephraim, who officiated the vigil mass. He retains the image of a model of the opponent, ex-minister. “ In any case, as a spiritual father, I can say that he was a model, he emphasizes. A committed Christian, he didn’t look too much at his status to be with people. Minister in office, he took off his shoes and with his children we saw him really seriously cleaning the church. And you see his face, he was beaming, he helped us a lot in the parish. I came to celebrate his life. »
A model also for his party comrades. “ He didn’t care about doing his part, but he was interested in making collective success a reality, greets Dieudonné Bolengetenge, secretary general of Ensemble pour la République. His availability and humility made him an easy man to get along with, even for the common people at headquarters. He knew how to maintain a pleasant personal relationship with everyone. »
No official tribute
Opponent Martin Fayulu was present at the vigil on Tuesday evening, but no member of the government was seen at the scene.
The investigation by the general prosecutor’s office into the death of Chérubin Okende concluded at the end of February a suicide. A rejected thesis by his party and those close to him. The first images after his death showed the opponent, close to Moïse Katumbi, at the wheel of his car, his chest bloodied and riddled with bullets.
Read alsoDRC: opponent Jaynet Kabila heard by military intelligence