BUKAVU, Congo — Hundreds gathered on Monday at a mass funeral in eastern Congo to mourn 27 young victims of a fire that engulfed two schools, with families weeping as officials laid wreaths and delivered speeches.
A blaze swept through two adjacent schools last week in the city of Bukavu, sparking a stampede as students attempted to flee the building. According to local authorities, at least 27 students were killed and dozens more were injured.
Local neighborhood administrator Moïse Lubala told The Associated Press that the fire began on Thursday at a house before spreading to the two adjoining schools. He noted that several students were trapped inside Furaha secondary school, with some succumbing to suffocation. While the cause remains unknown, the area is densely populated with wooden structures.
He stated that medical staff struggled to track the exact number of injured due to the overwhelming volume of patients.
Annunciat Kujirabwinja Zagabe attended the funeral on Monday to say goodbye to her 13-year-old grandson, Tuonane Machara wa Kidogo.
“The last time I spoke with him, I urged him to study diligently so he might one day follow in his teachers’ footsteps, and he was excelling academically,” she said, barely containing her tears as her voice trembled.
“That is why I am in such deep despair. I recall his journey through school up to the eighth grade without ever failing a single year, yet he died suddenly, without ever falling ill. He left home for school and simply passed away. It is utterly horrific.”
Alice Ambika Musafiri, one of the teachers, wept uncontrollably as she recounted the tragedy.
Musafiri said she was haunted by the cries of children calling for help.
“Ma’am, I’m being trampled!” she remembered them screaming.
“My child, I cannot reach you,” she yelled back. “Wait until I get the one I have now out first.”
Despite her desperate efforts, some students were still suffocated by the crushing crowd.
“My children, I had no way to save you. I lacked the strength; that is why I could only save those I could reach,” she told the AP, while a friend held her upright so she would not collapse from the overwhelming emotions. “Oh God, those voices keep returning to me. My children, my children—the suffering is unbearable.”
Since February 2025, Bukavu has been under the control of M23 rebels. Congo’s government continues to struggle to exert authority over the eastern region, where more than 100 armed groups vie for control of trillions of dollars in mineral wealth critical to much of the world’s technology.
Health services in the region are under severe strain as the area grapples with the deadliest Ebola outbreak in history, which has claimed more than 3,300 lives and resulted in over 6,800 confirmed cases.
Corneille Nangaa, leader of the political-military coalition Alliance Fleuve Congo, or AFC, which includes M23, pledged measures to protect schoolchildren from future fires.
“It is true that many things occur here on earth by God’s will, for we are all pilgrims here; yet, many things also stem from idleness and our own human errors,” he said at the funeral.
“As residents of Bukavu in particular—and of the DRC in general—let us resolve, starting today, to take a stand and make the decision to limit such damage through our own actions.”