AFRICA/BURKINA FASO - Catechist murdered in the east of the Country

Ouagadougou (Agenzia Fides) - The catechist Edouard Zoetyenga Yougbare was kidnapped and killed near Saatenga, in the diocese of Fada N'Gourma, in eastern Burkina Faso. According to a diocesan priest quoted by the Aci Africa news agency, the catechist was looking for his donkey on April 18 when the area where he was staying was about three kilometers from Kamona, a suburb on the outskirts of the center of Saatenga, was attacked by an armed group, possibly shepherds from the Peuls tribe. Several people who were in the area were captured by the armed group, including another catechist, Jean Marie Yougbare, “who was briefly detained but later released after the attackers recognized him as a benefactor because he had welcomed them in his house during a thunderstorm".
Edouard Zoetyenga Yougbare's family members did not see him return and learned of the attack, so they went looking for him but only found his bicycle. The search for the catechist continued the next day and his body was found in the early hours of April 19 in Pouargogê, about seven kilometers from Saatenga. The man was found with his throat slit, his hands tied behind his back and with signs of torture. According to the priest, the motive for the murder may lie in disagreements between the catechist and a group of Peuls over land ownership. The murdered catechist was born in Kouriogê in 1964 and was married to Eulalie Delma. He is the father of eight children, six boys and two girls, three of whom, two boys and a girl, have died. His commitment to the church "was marked by a remarkable devotion," according to the diocese. (L.M.) (Agenzia Fides, 26/4/2024)

Share:

catechists

---

---