January 2023 Persecution Magazine

HOTSPOT: DR CONGO
IN THE
FROM TRAGEDY TO THANKSGIVING
On March 20, 2022, Kahindo, 25, and her two-yearold
daughter, Nuela, were captured from their village
by the Allied Democratic Forces (ADF), an Islamic
extremist group operating in the Congo. Kahindo and
her family are all Christians, as were much of the people
from her village.
Following the ADF raid, during which her husband, two
children, two brothers, and both of her parents were brutally
murdered in front of her, Kahindo and her daughter
were imprisoned by the militants at their camp in a nearby
forest for more than three weeks.
This is a recounting of her story.
Scan this QR code with your
mobile device to have Kahindo’s
story read aloud.
“They killed over 30 people in our small village in Luna.
They said that they wanted to kill all unbelievers because
they have defiled the call of Allah and the teaching of Mohamed.
My child and I are the only ones who survived. My two children
were shot dead while escaping and I could also see
their little bodies crumpled on the ground. I was lying next
to my husband’s dead body, pretending to be dead as well.
I lay there for about 30 minutes as the rebels went on to kill
my parents, brothers, and other villages.
I scooped the soil that was soaked in my husband’s blood,
hoping to keep it as a reminder of him if I survived. They
saw my body moving and they pulled me up from my husband’s
body. They shouted that they had found a wife for
their leader.
16 Persecution | JANUARY 2023
PERSECUTION.ORG 17