Deceased former Transport Minister Cherubin Okende’s family have requested for the release of his remains to be buried having gotten fade up with the authorities’ delays in their investigation.
Okende, a former spokesperson of popular opposition leader Moïse Katumbi, was assassinated in July, 2023 by suspected secret agents of dictator and president Fèlix Tshisekedi.
The authorities have since witheld Okende’s remains for investigative purposes and performed an autopsy whose results have not been released comprehensively after six months.
The family of the deceased former Transport Minister have since grown fade up with the delays by the authorities and have since asked for the remains of their relative to be interred.
On Thursday, Okende’s widow, children and other members of the family visited the Public Prosecutor’s office at the Gombe High Court in Kinshasa requesting for the remains of the deceased to be released to them.
The Okende family have requested for the withdrawal of all cases and trial surrounding the murder in the DR Congo.
Lauren Onyemba, the Okendes’ family lawyer, revealed that the family could no longer continue the wait for justice which has been deliberately delayed to be served by the authorities.
“The widow, her children, her brothers and sisters noted that it has been six months since Mr. Okende was murdered in filthy conditions. They are surprised that it has been 4 months until today we do not have the outcome of the case. We sent seven letters to the prosecution authorities and we never received the slightest response.
The prosecutor has just received us saying that the body was already at the disposal of the Okende family, while the family believes that we cannot hand over the body without knowing the autopsy report. But because the family is tired of prolonging the mourning, they have just lifted the definitive option of burying Mr. Chérubin Okende without any intervention” Onyemba said.
