On September 14, former Health Minister of Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) Dr. Oly Ilunga Kalenga has been arrested for allegedly mismanaging Ebola funds worth $4.3 million, according to his lawyer.
In July, Dr. Ilunga had to quit his health minister’s post after DRC President Félix Tshisekedi removed him from the country’s Ebola response team.
On Monday, his lawyers said $1.9 million was spent after Dr. Ilunga resigned from the office so he is not responsible for that management.His lawyer, Guy Bayeka, said he has denied any wrongdoing.
In a statement, his lawyers said, “He reaffirms firmly his innocence in this case and promises to vigorously defend his honor.”
On Saturday, the national police said Dr. Oly Ilunga was arrested because they believed that after misusing Ebola funds, he had plans to leave the country and evade legal proceedings.
In a statement, the police said, “Unfortunately, police received information about his disappearance with a view to reaching Congo-Brazzaville.”
However, Bayekahas denied such claims and called for Dr. Ilunga’s immediate release from detention.
With over 3,000 cases and more than 2,000 deaths, the DRC has been facing the second deadliest Ebola outbreak on record since last summer.
The infection has spread to South Kivu province, Goma and Rwanda, although the vast majority of people are affect in North Kivu province. The efforts to combat the outbreak have been greatly affected because of the community distrust and violent attacks by militants.
In July, the World Health Organization (WHO) declared the outbreak an “International Health Emergency” as the virus continued to spread across the DRC. At that time, WHO Director-General Dr. Tedros AdhanomGhebreyesus described the outbreak as “a concerning geographic expansion.”
The nation’s sporadic violence, community distrust, political instability, and limited infrastructure are the major obstacles in stopping the spread of the infection.
