Bukavu: A 17-year-old girl was burned alive on charges of arson

Residents of the town of Bukavu in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, on Saturday, August 19, 2023, beat a 17-year-old girl and set her on fire because they suspected her of being the cause of the fires that broke out in the area.

Those who saw what happened, said that the girl was caught with a jerry can of fuel near the place where the fire took place, accusing her of being the one behind the attacks that have been attacking houses in the Panzi area of ​​Bukavu.

Horrific videos posted on social media show several people beating him and later setting him on fire.

The teenager was killed in the Panzi area of ​​Bukavu City, located in South Kivu. The news says that they killed him because he had a license that he was using to set fire to the houses on that hill.

Those who killed him are said to have regretted killing him because there was no evidence that he was the one who set the house on fire.

A non-governmental organization working in South Kivu, Droits Environment et Citoyenne, condemned what was done by those people and said that women continue to be abused.

They said, "Women, we are going through difficult times, it is very sad to burn our girls and women."

The head of Panzi, David Cikuru, said that the police responded but found that the child was already dead.

They said "We are sorry that we called the Police to do something but the head of the village head, the soldiers and the police arrived this girl is already dead."

In just one week in the Panzi area, about 50 houses were caught on fire. In South Kivu Province last weekend, a fire attacked a camp where people were displaced from their homes by the latest floods that hit Karehe region.

Source: Okapi Radio.