bandits on the road

Bunia feels a less tense place than it did a couple of years ago when I first arrived. It's rare to hear gunshots at night nowadays. Sheltered as I am on the university campus, it can be easy to forget that insecurity is still an issue in and near Bunia. But on Friday at university staff prayers we got news that was a sharp reminder otherwise. The afternoon before, one of the university drivers, B., had dropped off the principal about 50km out of town for a church meeting. On his way back night was falling as he reached a spot on the main road about 15km from Bunia. He found the road ahead of him barred by sticks driven into the ground. As he tried to reverse the vehicle, he was attacked by a group of around ten armed bandits. The dragged him out of the minibus, and beat him severely with sticks. They were looking for money, and took his mobile phone and the $20 he had. They had expected to find the minibus full of traders flush with cash coming back from Beni, a trading centre south of Bunia. The bandits discussed whether they should kill B, but in the end left him in a ditch and disappeared into the night. They didn't touch the vehicle. B tried to get back into the minibus, but his ribs were broken and he didn't have the strength. Miraculously a few minutes later a motorbike came by. The motorbike driver was a mechanic who knew B. He was able to drive B. and the university vehicle into Bunia and take B. to the hospital. Thankfully he was not badly injured, although he was very shaken up. We're thankful too, that the principal wasn't attacked.

 

People are saying that this main road south is not safe before 8 in the morning, nor after 4 in the evening. It's a road that friends and colleagues need to use regularly. It's been announced just recently that there are plans for the Chinese to tarmac this road, which is very good news, since it is deeply rutted and potholed. We're praying that its security can be improved, as well as its surface. And we're praying for B., and others like him whose job as a driver can involve big risks.