Two killed at funeral for slain east Congo musician

BENI, Democratic Republic of Congo (Reuters) - Police in eastern Congo killed two people on Tuesday when they opened fire on mourners at the funeral of a slain singer known for denouncing both his own government and the Rwandan-backed rebels occupying much of the country's east, witnesses said.

Thousands of Congolese had gathered to pay their last respects to Delcat Idengo, trailing his car-shaped coffin through the streets of his hometown Beni.

Throughout the day, mourners chanted against the M23 rebels that they blame for killing Idengo last month after taking control of Goma, eastern Congo's biggest city, as well as the government that had repeatedly arrested him.

M23 has not directly addressed accusations that its fighters killed Idengo.

In Beni, which is nearly 200 km (120 miles) north of Goma and under Congolese government control, violence broke out after Idengo had been buried, with police opening fire on hostile crowds. Witnesses said they saw two people killed.

"The musician Idengo has been buried in the presence of thousands of people. We regret that a few incidents have occurred during his burial," Beni's mayor, Jacob Nyofondo Tekodale, told reporters.

Idengo, whose real name is Delphin Katembo, won a passionate following for songs critical of the government. He was arrested several times, including in 2021 for insulting President Felix Tshisekedi, and again last year during a protest.

He escaped from the main prison in Goma along with thousands of other inmates when M23 swept into the city in January.

The day before he was shot, he unveiled a song entitled "Bunduki Za kwetu", meaning "weapons from home" in Swahili, which criticised armed groups like M23.

Human Rights Watch said earlier this month that Idengo was shot by M23 fighters at his home in Goma "in an apparently noncombat situation".

M23 accused the rights group of spreading falsehoods on the matter, without directly addressing whether its fighters killed him.

"We want to bury our hero with dignity," Nzanzu Makasi, another musician from eastern Congo, told Reuters earlier in the day.

Rwanda denies accusations by the United Nations that it supports M23 with weapons and troops, saying its military has been acting in self-defence against Congo's army and allied militias.

(Reporting by Congo newsroom; Writing by Aaron Ross; Editing by Daniel Wallis)