DR Congo ambassador to South Sudan dies

DR Congo ambassador to South Sudan dies

By Talkofjuba

René Ilume Itembele, ambassador of the Democratic Republic of Congo to South Sudan is reported to have died on Saturday, August 21, 2021 at the Babenda hospital center, in Bunia City, in the province of Ituri, Talk of Juba has learnt from multiple media reports.

The Congolese diplomat reportedly succumbed to a heart attack while on an official mission since August 9th to strengthen trade between the Democratic Republic of Congo and South Sudan in Ituri and to discuss with the provincial authorities on certain cases of criminality operated along the common border between the DRC and South Sudan.

“On an official mission in Ituri, the DRC ambassador accredited to Juba died in the afternoon of Saturday following a “health crisis,” reports local media sources. “He arrived in Ituri since last Monday August 09th.”

Contacted by local media, one of the deceased’s relatives said that the Congolese diplomat experienced “a malaise” of health complications before being sent to hospital on Saturday where he died hours later.

“He was healthy in the morning. It was from 2 p.m. onwards that he said he had discomfort, he was taken to the Babenda hospital where he died a few hours later,” said the close relative of the late ambassador René Ilume Itembele.

He has been instrumental in championing peace efforts in South Sudan.