Catholic Priest “out of danger” Following Armed Bandits Attack in DR Congo’s Kisangani Archdiocese

Kisangani, 08 September, 2025 / 5:10 PM

Fr. Jean-Paul Yailo Wamoko, a member of the Clergy of the Catholic Archdiocese of Kisangani in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) is recovering after he was shot and robbed reportedly by “unidentified bandits.”

In a statement issued September 6, the Chancellor of the Congolese Metropolitan See provides details about the September 5 attack on the Parish Priest of St. John the Evangelist Lowa Parish of Kisangani Archdiocese.

“On Friday, September 5, 2025, around 7 p.m., near Canal Orient TV in the city of Kisangani, Fr. Jean-Paul was the victim of an armed attack by unidentified bandits,” Fr. Jean-Paul Kumiepali Aekefelo says in the statement shared with ACI Africa.

Fr. Aekefelo further recounts, “After dispossessing him of his bag containing a computer, a sum of money, and his phones, his attackers shot him in the left thigh before disappearing.”

“Transported to Celpa Hospital thanks to the intervention of people of goodwill, he is fortunately out of danger and is receiving appropriate care,” the Congolese Catholic Priest says.

He shares the “deep indignation” of the Local Ordinary of Kisangani, Archbishop Marcel Utembi Tapa, who he says “denounces the resurgence of insecurity that is rampant in the city and its surroundings.”

“This insecurity is marked by multiple armed robberies and nighttime operations by bandits, sparing neither religious communities nor individuals,” Fr. Aekefelo laments.

He adds, “This latest incident adds to a list of many other cases reported in the recent past, regarding which the silence of the competent authorities plunges the population into insecurity and despair.”

“Among them are the armed attack on the Father Déon Scholasticate, the Convent of the Sisters of the Immaculate Conception, the Carmelite Convent, and the assassination of an employee of the Church Supply Office, Mr. Boniface, to name only these,” the Congolese Chancellor of Kisangani Archdiocese bemoans.

He notes that “this situation casts discredit on the city of Kisangani, once known as a hospitable city.”

Fr. Aekefelo appeals to the relevant Congolese authorities to “promptly fulfill their mission of protecting the population and its property, as well as securing the city.”

He invites all the people of God to pray for the “speedy recovery of Father Jean-Paul Yailo and for peace in our city, through the intercession of Blessed Anuarite and the Virgin Mary, Our Lady of Peace.”