Martyr in Congo

Chapter 6. False accusations

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Accepted by his local communities, Fr. Louis was misunderstood by those in power

The Simba guerrillas managed to control the territory for about three months, but they suffered some heavy setbacks in August following a couple of attacks in Bukavu. The guerrillas were defeated in clashes with the armed forces of General Mobutu, who was hostile to Lumumba’s movement, and by numerous foreigners who had been deprived of their property; these were backed up by mercenaries and some T28 and B26 bombers.

Tension, heightened by fear, began to spread among the Simba ranks and they set their sights on the missions of Baraka and Fizi. Father Carrara decided to move from Fizi to Baraka to provide Brother Faccin with company and support. The two Xaverians had to abandon the mission house on the hill and take up residence in the house nearer to the lake. This move was made necessary by the threats of the Simba, who had begun to accuse the missionaries of making secret contacts with Mobutu’s soldiers via a non-existent radio transmitter.

The guerrillas were intent on plundering the mission base on the hill, and Brother Faccin immediately set about building a slightly more comfortable house not far from the new church and close to the lake. Hostility towards the missionaries was increasing. The incredible accusations against them had convinced even the most simple people that they were treacherous and dangerous. Everyone, including the chiefs and ordinary rebels, was obsessed by the non-existent radio transmitter. Slowly but surely, the guerrillas were ever more convinced that their military setbacks were the result of the Xaverians’ contacts with the enemy. Whenever planes passed overhead, the nervous Simba reacted with renewed threats, minute searches and grueling interrogations.

I have found an incredible faith among these people. Every able bodied Christian was present at the meeting, some of them after journeys of four, five, and even six hours; there are mothers with children on their backs, old people with their sticks, and a crippled woman who had walked from the most distant missions for the pre-baptismal scrutiny: my heart was moved to pity at this sight.
Fr. Louis Carrara

At the beginning of September 1964, a Christian family of the nearby village of Matara offered hospitality to the two missionaries, reserving them ample space in their hut, so that they could at least spend the night there. Father Carrara and Brother Faccin were convinced that it was no longer safe for them to sleep alone, since they did not wish to raise further suspicions in the guerrillas’ minds or expose themselves to the risk of some fanatic attacking them at home. In early November, the radio transmitter accusations were brought up once again. By then, the missionaries were the only foreigners left in the region and, consequently, they were accused of causing all the troubles.

On November 24, 1964, a military contingent from Albertville arrived in the proximity of Lulimba, on the road to the mission of Fizi. About 1,000 rebels were waiting to ambush the troops before they reached Fizi and Baraka. The Bambene of Baraka had joined the Simba, convinced that they could easily overcome the government forces. The rebels were led by Abedì Masanga, a Bambene of the Balala clan (the most hostile to the foreigners and the Xaverians), who lived with his three wives in Katanga, a village 6 miles away from Baraka, on the road to Fizi.

Prior to his involvement in politics, and before he became notorious for his extremely violent behavior, Masanga had also worked for the mission. From the beginning of the uprising, he had become famous for stealing and the arbitrary harm he inflicted on defenseless families. He organized a small but ferocious gang and set out to domineer the region, undisturbed and unchallenged. Within a few weeks he had appointed himself, first lieutenant, then captain and, finally, colonel. He was a heavy smoker (cannabis) and drinker (kanyanka, a drink distilled from manioca). On that ill-fated November 24, he, like all his men, was drunk. When the military column reached the place where the ambush had been set up, Masanga launched his drunken men against the armored cars at the head of the troops.

The armored cars, driven by expert mercenaries, wreaked havoc among the rebels who were then attacked by mortar fire. More than 700 rebels died that day, their last great battle. Masanga saved his life by hiding among the bodies of his fallen men. Perhaps the bearded mercenary who had killed so many of his companions from the armored car had made a great impression on Masanga. In his drunken madness and fear, that beard and that face must have reminded him of those other beards and equally hated faces of the missionaries whose disarming serenity reproached his violent and cruel behavior.

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