Protesters in the Democratic Republic of Congo set fire to tents used to treat Ebola patients after authorities refused to hand over the body of a suspected Ebola victim to his family for burial, Reuters witnesses reported.

The incident took place in Rwampara, in Ituri province, an area heavily affected by an ongoing outbreak of the Bundibugyo strain of Ebola. Police fired warning shots and used tear gas to disperse the crowd as tensions escalated outside the hospital.

The dispute centered on the death of local footballer Eli Munongo Wangu, whose family rejected the authorities’ assessment that he may have died from Ebola. His mother told Reuters that she believed her son had died from typhoid fever instead.

Munongo had played for several local football teams and was well known in his neighborhood. He had been admitted to hospital several days before his death, and doctors had taken samples for testing after identifying him as a suspected Ebola case.

His family, friends and neighbors gathered outside the hospital on Thursday and demanded that his body be handed over so they could bury him themselves. Authorities refused, citing the need for a safe burial because of the potential risk of Ebola transmission.

Jean-Claude Mukendi, a senior police officer coordinating security for the Ebola response in Ituri, said the crowd had been warned that the body could not be handled outside established safety procedures.

Soldiers initially attempted to calm the situation before police intervened with tear gas and warning shots. The crowd then set fire to two treatment tents operated by the medical charity ALIMA, according to Mukendi.

The tents contained eight beds and were being used to treat Ebola patients. Six patients were receiving care there at the time of the unrest and were later transferred to the hospital, ALIMA said.

The fire also destroyed a body that had been scheduled for a safe burial that day. Authorities eventually buried Munongo’s body overnight between Thursday and Friday despite continued opposition from his family.

Batakura Zamundu Mugeni, a local customary chief who witnessed the incident, said health authorities were working to identify and locate any patients who may have fled during the unrest, as well as people who may have been in contact with them.

The incident highlighted the difficulties authorities face in enforcing safe burial procedures during Ebola outbreaks. Bodies of people who die from Ebola can remain highly infectious, and traditional funerals involving direct contact with the deceased can increase the risk of transmission.

The first known victim in the current outbreak died in Bunia, the provincial capital, on April 24. According to Reuters, the virus spread after his body was returned to Mongbwalu, where mourners gathered around and touched him during the funeral.

Mistrust and misinformation have complicated previous Ebola responses in Congo. During the 2018–2020 outbreak in North Kivu province, hundreds of health centers were attacked by armed groups and angry civilians. That outbreak killed nearly 2,300 people and was the second-deadliest Ebola outbreak on record.

The current outbreak was declared by the Congolese government on Friday and has already become the third-largest on record, according to health ministry figures cited by Reuters. The data showed 670 suspected cases and 160 suspected deaths as of Thursday.

Mukendi attributed the unrest to what he described as young people who did not understand the seriousness of the disease. The confrontation underscored the challenges health workers face in maintaining public cooperation while trying to contain the outbreak.

The Ebola outbreak has also affected Congo’s national soccer team. The team was forced to cancel World Cup preparation events in Kinshasa and will instead continue preparations in Belgium, according to a team spokesperson, in order to comply with US travel restrictions.

SOURCE: Reuters, Benoit Nyemba, May 22, 2026.