Skip to Content

Catalan and Sharp
Goma

Swedish and American aid workers found dead in shallow African grave

A Swedish UN aid worker and her American colleague who had been abducted in the Democratic Republic of Congo have been found dead in a shallow grave, the Foreign Ministry and the United Nations confirmed on Wednesday.

Published: March 30, 2017, 9:45 am

    Read more

    They were found buried with their Congolese interpreter. Although the United Nations said in a statement that they did not know what had caused their deaths, it is not difficult to guess why they had been killed in a region and country awash with tribal competition to gain access to lucrative concessions involving minerals and other resources.

    The Congolese government is fighting a rebel group which operates in the area and is believed to have kidnapped the experts.

    The unrest in the province has become an increasingly serious threat to President Joseph Kabila, whose decision to stay on beyond the end of his elected mandate last December has sent ripples of unrest across the vast mining country.

    The two had been investigating Kasaï-Central province, where they had gone to uncover reported human rights abuses. The violence in Kasai was sparked by the killing of tribal leader Kamwina Nsapu, who was leading an uprising against Kabila.

    Hundreds of people have been killed in the unrest as tribal leaders have rebelled against the central government. A spokesperson for the DRC government criticised the UN for failing to take adequate measures to protect the experts, saying it was “not normal” for foreign workers to come to the region.

    “If the government had been informed of the activities of these officials, perhaps they would have had an escort for their safety,” said Lambert Mende. It is suspected that the two UN workers had become a “problem” to the government.

    The disappearance of Catalan and Sharp was the first time UN experts had been reported missing in Congo, Human Rights Watch reported, and the first recorded deaths of international workers in the Kasai provinces.

    Swedish Prime Minister Stefan Löfven said their mission “gave hope to a country that has long been plagued by violence” and that Catalan had risked her own life to save others.

    Green Party spokespeople Gustav Fridolin and Isabella Lövin described their party adherent and former youth leader Catalan as a “true role model”. Fridolin and Catalan had worked together for two years as spokespeople for the Green Party’s youth wing.

    The Swedish foreign ministry has advised against travelling to the DRC since 2006.

    Brian Palmer, a friend who had invited Catalan to speak to his class at Uppsala University, where he teaches, said: “She had come to see the people that she was trying to help as her equals and her friends and had very much loyalty to them.”

    The part of Kasai-Central Province they had traveled to had lately been littered with mass graves, for which the Congolese Army was blamed.

    Sharp’s laptop was secured by an iris scan — his own. His watch tracked his exact location, but did not emit signals to locate him when he was abducted, suggesting that he was taken by well-trained individuals. Willet Weeks, a senior adviser on eastern Congo to the State Department, told the New York Times: “He had tremendous empathy, even for some of the nastiest people he worked with.”

    But his empathy could not save his life in the end, unfortunately.

    Officials said on Saturday Congolese tribal militiamen decapitated about 40 police officers in the deadliest attack on the security forces since the uprising began last year.

    UN figures indicate that more than 400 people have been killed in violence in which militants have been blamed for atrocities and government forces are accused of targeting civilians.

    Consider donating to support our work

    Help us to produce more articles like this. FreeWestMedia is depending on donations from our readers to keep going. With your help, we expose the mainstream fake news agenda.

    Keep ​your language polite​. Readers from many different countries visit and contribute to Free West Media and we must therefore obey the rules in​,​ for example​, ​Germany. Illegal content will be deleted.

    If you have been approved to post comments without preview from FWM, you are responsible for violation​s​ of​ any​ law. This means that FWM may be forced to cooperate with authorities in a possible crime investigation.

    If your comments are subject to preview ​by FWM, please be patient. We continually review comments but depending on the time of day it can take up to several hours before your comment is reviewed.

    We reserve the right to del​ete​ comments that are offensive, contain slander or foul language, or are irrelevant to the discussion.

    Africa

    South Africa’s infrastructure 30 years after the end of Apartheid

    LondonHating South Africa was part of growing up in North London in the 1980s. Pelle Taylor and Patrick Remington from Two Raven Films, recently interviewed South Africans about the decline of the country after Apartheid ended.

    Nigerian President: More weapons for Ukraine end up in Africa

    LagosSome time ago, FWM reported on arms deliveries to Ukraine, which shortly afterwards were resold on the Internet. Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari has warned that "weapons used in the war in Ukraine are gradually leaking into the region" and called for strengthened border security.

    Namibia sees opportunity to attract German energy refugees

    Windhoek"The former German colony, Namibia wants to help Germany in its energy crisis". This is how an article in the online edition of a German newspaper recently began about Namibia's new "Digital Nomad" visa. The six-month visa is ideal for long-term holidaymakers. And for professionals who have their office on their laptop and can work from anywhere.

    Uneven global population growth reaches 8 billion

    According to the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), we celebrated the 8 billionth day* on November 15. The planet's population is still increasing dramatically, albeit at a decreasing pace.

    French fuel debacle spills over to Senegal

    DakarThe recent events at the French embassy in Burkina Faso were yet another demonstration against France on the African continent after France was ousted from Mali. All it took was a rumour to attract the sympathy of the population and demonstrators to head to the French Embassy.

    New South African drone to compete with Turkey’s Bayraktar

    PretoriaThe South African defense company Milkor unveiled its Milkor 380 reconnaissance and attack unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV). It is expected to become a competitor to Turkey's Bayraktar and Anka drones.

    Bucking the trend: Uganda bans work by LGBT group

    KampalaThe Ugandan government has banned the activities of a local non-governmental organization that campaigns for the rights of sexual minorities. According to a senior official, the organization worked illegally in the African country.

    South Africa: 82 suspects arrested after a mass rape

    KrugersdorpDozens of black men ambushed a film crew at an abandoned mine near Johannesburg on Friday. They raped eight models between the ages of 19 and 35. As they fled, the police shot dead two suspects and 82 other people were arrested.

    BRICS expansion on the cards

    More and more emerging countries are considering joining the BRICS group, which is seen as the major emerging countries' counterweight to the US-led West and the G7. Especially in times like these, this is also a clear signal to Washington.

    Poland opens border after South Africa complains about their treatment of blacks

    PretoriaThere is a very diverse crowd on the German-Polish border currently trying to take advantage of the war situation. Do they really all come from Ukraine?

    Go to archive