A Website calling for President Kabila to Rehabilitate Lemera Hospital has been launched

MJPC has launched a website calling for President Kabila to rehabilitate Lemera Hospital destroyed in 1996 after being used as launching site of the war that led Laurent D. Kabila to power. The site  www.hopitaldelemera.org  also seeks to remind the world that the Congolese government has not yet taken steps to rehabilitate the hospital which was destroyed in serious violations of the Geneva Conventions. It urges people to take action to remind President Joseph Kabila to rehabilitate this hospital by signing an online petition http://www.gopetition.com.au/online/31274.html

According to Amede Kyubwa, Executive Director of MJPC, "Avenue Roi Baudouin", ex-trois "Z" during the Mobutu regime, now known as "Avenue of Lemera" in Kinshasa, the equivalent of America's Main Street known as "Pennsylvania Avenue" probably would not have been known as "Avenue of Lemera" without Lemera Hospital. Even the the most prestigious presidencial ship would not have been renamed "Bateau Lemera" if the completely destroyed hospital of Lemera had not been used as launching site of the AFDL war. A dozen pregnant women, several patients who could not move from their beds and several medical workers were cowardly and brutally killed. The hospital was completely destroyed after being looted.

The launch of this site coincides with the 13th anniversary of the destruction of the hospital once considered one of the largest hospitals in the Democratic Republic of Congo. With a capacity of 300 beds, facilities covering over 40 hectares, a team of over 10 physicians including Dr. Denis Mukwege, known for his pioneering work in treating victims of sexual violence, a budget of over 2 million dollars, the hospital built by the Swedish Pentecostal missionaries represented the pride of South Kivu and served a population of around 4 million inhabitants.

The organizers of the campaign believe that although it remains unclear at this time on whether President Joseph Kabila who was also a senior officer in the AFDL army led by his father, had attended the official ceremony of launching the war in Lemera Hospital, it is quite logical to say that he came to power because of circumstances created in Lemera. The hospital remains n catastrophic conditions 13 years after its destruction despite of attempts to use a few buildings remaining. As a consequence, the populations it served are dying without access to basic medical care because there is not another hospital around Lemera to serve as an alternative.