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Union for Democracy and Social Progress
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Union for Democracy and Social Progress

DR Congo's governing political party.

The UDPS lost its acting Butembo president, Marie-Célestin Karondwa, to an attack at his home on 27 September 2026, in the city now at the centre of DR Congo's Ebola outbreak.

Last refreshed: 4 October 2026 · Appears in 1 active topic

Timeline for Union for Democracy and Social Progress

#14 23 Sept

Lost its acting Butembo president

Pandemics and Biosecurity: UDPS official beaten to death in Butembo
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Background

the Union for Democracy and Social Progress (UDPS) is DR Congo's governing political party. Its local structure reaches Butembo, a trading city in North Kivu Province, where it has a branch president.

In Butembo the party operates where distrust of the state runs deep. The city and neighbouring Beni were excluded from the December 2018 presidential vote on Ebola grounds, a decision many residents read as political, and that memory attaches to every outbreak measure since. Butembo was also the centre of community resistance in the 2018-2020 Ebola epidemic.

That history makes local party figures part of the public-health picture. Karondwa's Ebola prevention talks on Butembo radio lent the governing party's voice to a response many residents distrust.

Key Issues
Butembo killing

The party lost its Butembo leader

On 27 September 2026 attackers struck Marie-Célestin Karondwa, the UDPS's acting president in Butembo, at home; the party told Al Jazeera that he later died of his injuries. He had spoken about Ebola prevention on local radio. Neither Al Jazeera nor the party named the attackers or a motive.

The killing puts the governing party inside the most strained part of the Ebola response. Butembo, a trading city in North Kivu, is now the focus of the Bundibugyo epidemic's move south, and five health facilities there burned between 26 July and 1 September amid rumours about the response. Armed groups operate around Butembo and Beni, and killings there happen often.

Common Questions
What is the UDPS in DR Congo?
the Union for Democracy and Social Progress is DR Congo's governing political party.
What happened to the UDPS official in Butembo?
Marie-Célestin Karondwa, the party's acting Butembo president, was attacked at his home on 27 September 2026 and died of his injuries, Al Jazeera reported, citing his party. WHO attacked him, and why, has not been established.Source: Al Jazeera
Who was the UDPS president in Butembo?
Marie-Célestin Karondwa was the party's acting Butembo president until he was attacked at his home on 27 September 2026 and died of his injuries.Source: Al Jazeera