Just days earlier, Thursday morning, to be precise, i had left Bukavu by bus.
According to media reports, the plane was ferrying the finance minister and senior advisers to President Joseph Kabila, including the Governor of the South Kivu province. Apparently, the foreign pilots were flying into Kavuma airport on Bukavu for the first time. They overshot the runway and crashed, One senior presidential aide died while the finance minister, reportedly sustained serious injuries.
I was more curious about the condition of the Governor. On the evening of the 8th February, i was among conference participants that shared a dance floor with Governor Marcellin Cishambo, at a dinner party hosted at the end of a 3-day conference on natural resource management in post-conflict zones-the subject of my trip to Bukavu.
 | |
| Governor Marcellin Cishambo (in bow tie) at the opening of the Conference in Bukavu |
In fact, earlier that day, i had taken part in a group discussion in which the Governor participated, and even had a chance for a photo-op and a tete-a-tete afterwards. It was therefore a shock to learn that he had been in the ill-fated plane. Thankfully, the Governor's injuries are not life-threatening, even though he will be immobile for several months, if media reports are to be believed. I wish him and his colleagues a quick recovery.
In the meantime, stay tuned for posts on my experience in Bukavu and Rwanda.
