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Lemera Hospital

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Lemera Hospital
The Lemera Hospital, Lemera, June 2014
Geography
LocationLemera, Uvira Territory, South Kivu, Democratic Republic of the Congo
Organisation
FundingNonprofit
TypeTertiary
Services
Emergency departmentYes
History
Construction started1921; 104 years ago (1921)
Links
ListsHospitals in Democratic Republic of the Congo

The Lemera Hospital (French: Hôpital de Lemera), officially Hôpital Général de Référence de Lemera ("Lemera General Reference Hospital"), is a general referral hospital located in Lemera, the administrative center of the Bafuliiru Chiefdom in Uvira Territory, South Kivu, Democratic Republic of the Congo.[1][2][3] It situated 87 kilometers from Uvira, 100 kilometers from Bukavu, and 27 kilometers from the Bukavu-Uvira axis at Bwegera.[1]

Operated under the Department of Medical Works of the 8th Community of Pentecostal Churches in Central Africa (8ème Communauté des Églises de Pentecôte en Afrique Centrale, CEPAC), Lemera Hospital combines healthcare services with a mission of evangelical outreach.[1] However, the hospital is infamous for the Lemera massacre when the hospital was attacked during the First Congo War by the Alliance of Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Congo (AFDL). It was reconstructed with international aid.[4][5][6][7][8]

History

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Lemera Hospital dates back to 1921 when Swedish Pentecostal Missionaries arrived in the area. The facility was initially established as a dispensary, offering medical care for an unknown illness that had claimed the lives of four missionaries in rapid succession.[9][10] The event gave rise to many theories, with some alleging that the missionaries had been poisoned by the native populace who were initially averse to their gospel, while others attributed the fatalities to the harsh climate of the Ruzizi Plains. However, Julius and Ruth Aspenlind, the first European missionaries to reach Lemera in 1924, testified that the propitious weather conditions were instrumental in siting the dispensary in Lemera. Following Congolese independence in 1960, Jean Ruhigita Ndagora Bugwika transformed the dispensary into a fully-fledged hospital, officially named it "Hôpital de Lemera".[9][10]

During the mid-1960s and 1970s, the hospital mainly treated Zairean patients afflicted with worm diseases, malaria, typhoid fever, cancer, and cardiovascular diseases. It did not have native Congolese physicians. It was administered by Ingegerd Rooth, who initially worked as a nurse before going back to Sweden to complete her medical training and ultimately returned to Lemera to serve as the physician in charge.[11][12][9][13]

In 1981, Jean Bugwika secured funding from the Swedish International Development Agency (SIDA) to construct additional facilities, including halls and a hydroelectric dam for electricity and water to the hospital and Lemera's populace. Following Jean Bugwika's death in 1993, Menhe Mushunganya Luanda assumed his position. In 1989, Denis Mukwege relocated to Lemera Hospital and introduced specialized gynecology and obstetrics services. He became the hospital's medical director in 1992 and held the position until the hospital was attacked in 1996.[9][14]

First Congo War and Lemera massacre

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Main articles: First Congo War and Lemera massacre
A nurse at Lemera Hospital, April 2020

During the onset of the First Congo War, the Lemera Hospital was a prominent medical center and the largest medical facility in South Kivu Province, providing medical care to approximately 300 patients with 230 beds. It catered to wounded Zairean soldiers caught in the crossfire of armed conflicts, local civilians, and Hutu refugees who were fleeing from Burundi and Rwanda.[15]

On 6 October 1996, Lemera Hospital was attacked by members of the Banyamulenge-led armed group. The insurgents pillaged the medical supplies and killed numerous patients, including Zairian soldiers, Hutu refugees, and Zairian civilians. The nurses were killed in their quarters. According to eyewitnesses and the UN Mapping Report, around 37 people were murdered in their beds, either by "bullets or bayonets".[5]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ a b c Katibula, Esther Dina (11 October 2017). "Conception d'une application de la gestion des Ressources Humaines au sein d'une institution sanitaire "Cas de l'Hôpital Général de Référence de Lemera"" [Design of a Human Resources Management Application within a Health Institution "Case of the Lemera General Reference Hospital".] (in French). Bukavu, South Kivu, Democratic Republic of the Congo: Institut Supérieur Pédagogique de Bukavu (ISP-Bukavu). Retrieved 8 January 2025.
  2. ^ "RDC: Massacre de Lemera : rescapé, le Dr Denis Mukwege demande que les auteurs soient jugés" [DRC: Lemera Massacre: Survivor Dr Denis Mukwege Calls for Perpetrators to Be Tried]. Debout RDC. 8 October 2022. Retrieved 17 May 2023.
  3. ^ "Bukavu: Dr Mukwege déplore les massacres de Maboya au Nord-Kivu" [Bukavu: Dr Mukwege deplores the massacres of Maboya in North Kivu]. Radio Okapi (in French). 24 October 2022. Retrieved 17 May 2023.
  4. ^ Kristine, Jean (9 August 2021). La Piste des Congo: Témoignage fictionnel [The Congo Trail: Fictional testimony] (in French). Paris, France: Le Cri. ISBN 9782871067573. Retrieved 17 May 2023.
  5. ^ a b "Attacks against other civilian populations - South Kivu". Mapping-report.org. DRC Mapping Exercise Report. 15 June 2009. Retrieved 17 May 2023.
  6. ^ Dimanyayi, Christian (6 October 2022). "27 ans de massacre de Lemera (Sud-Kivu): Denis Mukwege crie " Justice " pour les victimes de ce crime" [27 years of Lemera massacre (South Kivu): Denis Mukwege cries “Justice” for the victims of this crime]. 7sur7.cd (in French). Retrieved 17 May 2023.
  7. ^ Rolley, Sonia (6 October 2016). "RDC: le douloureux souvenir du massacre de Lemera" [DRC: the painful memory of the Lemera massacre]. Radio France Internationale (in French). Retrieved 17 May 2023.
  8. ^ "Voulez-Vous Vraiment Faire Une Différence?: Rappeler au Président Kabila de Réhabiliter I'Hôpital de Lemera" [Do You Really Want to Make a Difference?: Remind President Kabila to Rehabilitate Lemera Hospital]. Calaméo (in French). 16 April 2012. Retrieved 17 May 2023.
  9. ^ a b c d "Voulez-Vous Vraiment Faire Une Différence?: Rappeler au Président Kabila de Réhabiliter I'Hôpital de Lemera" [Do You Really Want to Make a Difference?: Remind President Kabila to Rehabilitate Lemera Hospital]. Calaméo (in French). 16 April 2012. pp. 3–7. Retrieved 17 May 2023.
  10. ^ a b "Pingstmissionen i Kongo/Zaïre – bakgrund" [The Pentecostal mission in Congo/Zaïre – background]. issuu (in Swedish). Retrieved 17 May 2023.
  11. ^ Karlsson, Wanja. "Min första period på Lemera 1975‒1977" [My first period at Lemera 1975‒1977]. issuu (in Swedish). Retrieved 17 May 2023.
  12. ^ Rooth, Ingegerd (2007). Nära himlen i det gröna helvetet (in Swedish). Örebro, Sweden: Marcus Förlag. ISBN 9789179995300.
  13. ^ Kimberly Ervin Alexander; Mark J. Cartledge; Melissa L. Archer; Michael D. Palmer, eds. (13 June 2022). Sisters, Mothers, Daughters: Pentecostal Perspectives on Violence Against Women. Leiden, Netherlands: Brill. p. 167. ISBN 9789004513204.
  14. ^ "Be för Kongo på söndag" [Pray for Congo on Sunday]. Dagen (in Swedish). 12 December 2012. Retrieved 22 May 2023.
  15. ^ "Hospital patients and nurses killed". Brunijazzart.com. Retrieved 17 May 2023.

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