Pan African Visions

2018 Nobel Peace Prize Laureate, Dr. Denis Mukwege insist death threats and intimidations will not deter his cause

August 01, 2020

By Amos Fofung

Denis Mukwege received the Nobel Peace Prize 2018 for his efforts to end the use of sexual violence as a weapon of war [File: Lise Aserud/EPA]
Denis Mukwege received the Nobel Peace Prize 2018 for his efforts to end the use of sexual violence as a weapon of war [File: Lise Aserud/EPA]

Renowned Congolese gynecological surgeon, Pastor, and co-winner of the 2018 Nobel Peace Prize, Dr. Denis Mukwege has revealed he is receiving death threats anew against his life and that of family members.

The Internationally acclaimed human rights activist, famous for treating more than 50,000 victims of war rape in his Panzi Hospital in Bukavu, Democratic Republic of Congo in a press release stated that “Since my tweet on Sunday, July 26 denouncing the recent massacre in Kipupu in Mwenga territory in South Kivu, I have received various hate mail, and members of my family have been intimidated and threatened.”

Dr. Denis Mukwege has survived two assassination attempts since 2012 believes the threats are a distraction from people who seek to prevent him from forging ahead with his investigation into killings in the DRC and his support to try those responsible.

His Friday June 31 statement a copy of which was sent to our newsroom states that “22 years ago, I discovered the dramatic consequences of the war on Congolese soil, in the Kivus region and in other provinces of our country. Since then, I have not ceased to campaign for the search for truth and the application of justice, without which we cannot hope for lasting peace. No matter the period, no matter the region of the world, no lie, no falsified construction of history has ever succeeded in sustaining peace. Executioners and victims have no future if they are condemned to live a lie,” the statement partially read.

 Reiterating he will not give in to threats or let go of his mission to seek justice, multiple award-winning Dr. Denis said he will continue to advocate for the creation of a special jurisdiction to try crimes in Congo.

“For almost 10 years, I have been advocating for the examination of the Mapping Report carried out by the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights. This report contains a compilation of war crimes, crimes against humanity, and genocides detailed from 1993 to 2003. Without analyzing these crimes—which mark the history of the Congo—and without justice being rendered for these crimes, no people involved in these conflicts will be able to recover or live in peace,” the statement added.

Clinging to the dogma that “telling the truth is the start of change”, the 65-year-old Pentecostal pastor who become the world’s leading specialist in the treatment of wartime sexual violence and a global campaigner against the use of rape as a weapon of war was blunt in pointing out that “No intellectual malfeasance, no threat, no intimidation, will prevent me from expressing myself on the reality of the atrocities experienced by the populations of my country.”

Acknowledging that the search for truth is always a difficult process, Dr. Denis Mukwege has been strongly advocating for the examination of the Mapping Report carried out by the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights – so the report which contains a compilation of war crimes, crimes against humanity, and genocides detailed from 1993 to 2003 analyzes and justice rendered.

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