ELKHART, Indiana (Africa Inter-Mennonite Mission/Mennonite Mission Network) – Sunday morning, Dec. 4, soldiers grabbed a Mennonite pastor as he stepped from his house at the headquarters of Communauté Mennonite au Congo (Mennonite Church of Congo) in Tshikapa, a city in southern Democratic Republic of Congo. The pastor, whose name is withheld for security reasons, is a member of Congo Leadership Coaching Network, a training program and mentoring network for Mennonite pastors.
The pastor was told to say good-bye to his wife and children, then marched to a sand mound to be shot. The shot was never fired and the pastor was freed later that same day. Charles Buller, Africa Inter-Mennonite Mission’s international staff person, works closely with this pastor and received a phone call on Sunday in which the pastor described his ordeal and release.
Buller said that it seemed the pastor was mistaken for someone else, and when the soldiers realized that he was a man of God, they decided to let him go.
“However, they made it clear that if he so much set a toe outside his house again, he would be shot on sight,” Buller said.
Although Congo is experiencing conflict resulting from the postponement of national elections, the fighting in Tshikapa seems to be due to two local chiefs vying for power. One chief has the backing of the national security forces. The other side has formed a militia of mostly child soldiers. Sources vary on the number reported to have died in the fighting in Tshikapa last weekend, ranging from 20-30 people.
According to Congo’s constitution, Dec. 19 is the date that President Joseph Kabila is scheduled to cede power as he has served the maximum two terms in office. However, elections have not yet been held – due to logistical problems, Kabila’s government says. The Kabila regime proposes to hold elections in April 2018. Some opposition leaders are demanding that Kabila step down, even though a successor is not yet in place, and are threatening widespread unrest if a government transition does not occur.
Buller said that relative calm has returned to Tshikapa by Wednesday. He also reported that the National Episcopal Conference of Congo is making a last-minute effort to bring the presiding national government and the opposition parties into face-to-face talks to avert a possible bloodbath on Dec. 19.
“What is hopeful here is that the church is stepping into the gap to call for an alternative to violence,” Buller said. “Our Congolese sisters and brothers are praying diligently for a miracle and divine intervention. Let’s join them.”
AIMM, Mennonite Church Canada, and Mennonite Mission Network partner in mission in Congo and many African countries.
