In May, militants aligned with the Allied Democratic Forces (ADF) kidnapped Pastor Paluku Katahiindwa Claude and his wife, Katungu Vyahasa Esther, of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). As their church and family have neither received requests for ransom nor found their bodies, they pray and hope that there is still a chance of the couple being alive.
Pastor Paluku (45) is the main pastor of the 3e CBCA church in Lolwa, Mambasa territory, DRC. Two days before they went missing, he and his wife had gone to their farm, some 2 km from their village. As was typical, they intended to spend a night or two at the farm for the harvest before returning home. When neither one returned home, their friends realized something was wrong.
Pastor Kakule Kowa of the CBCA Ecclesiastical Post of Bunia originally reported the missing pesons. Upon investigation, the authorities said that “during our search in the area after the ADF incursion, we found the service card of Pastor Paluku and his Bible on the road from the farm. The ADF left with them”.
The couple’s whereabouts remain unknown. Because their bodies have not yet been found the church and their family remains hopeful that they are alive. Paluku and Esther have nine (9) children.
Around the same time they went missing, the ADF carried out attacks in several villages in the Mambasa territory. During these attacks, the ADF killed altogether 17 Christians, including three (3) children.
“Let us unite our prayers together, that God will bring the pastoral couple back to peace”, said Pastor Kakule.
Eastern DRC continues to be troubled by ADF attacks in the territories of Beni, Irumu and part of Mambasa. In May 2024, the ADF killed at least 45 Christians in villages like Mantumbi, Kyabanganze, Mandimo, Kazaroho, amongst others.
The Democratic Republic of the Congo ranks at number 41 on the 2024 World Watch List of most persecuted countries.
Will you join them in prayer?
From Pastor Kakule: “Our request is that all Christians in the world hold hands while praying together with us. May peace return to our communities where we do the Lord’s work, so let us pray that the servant of God will be free and may we be rejoicing when we see him being with us.”
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Pray for the safe return of Paluku and Esther.
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Pray for strength and encouragement for their nine children and other family members. May the Lord give them hope and keep their eyes on Him during these trying moments.
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Pray for the Lord’s comfort for the Christians in eastern DRC who have lost family members. Pray for the resilience of the Church in the areas targeted by the ADF.
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Pray for the effectiveness of the military operations launched by the FARDC-UPDF coalition which has a mission to stop the ADF attacks.