By
Sylvain Muyali
General Lucien Bahuma Ambamba of the Congolese army has died. He passed away in the early hours of Sunday August 31, 2014 in Pretoria, South Africa from a heart attack following an earlier meeting on cross border security with Uganda People’s Defence Force (UPDF) commander Brig. Peter Elwelu in the Kasese district of Western Uganda.
General Ambamba was transferred to an emergency medical facility in Pretoria from the meeting where it is reported he was paralysed and on a life support system before passing away.
Ambamba was highly regarded in the DR Congo military having confronted the Allied Democratic Forces (ADF) and National Army for the Liberation of Uganda (NALU) in the territory of Beni in North Kivu. From July 2012 he was appointed commander of the 8th military region in Goma, North Kivu.
General Ambamba had several military victories, notably the 2008 campaign in North Kivu against Laurent Nkunda of the CNDP which will go down as the biggest event in the Military of the Democratic Republic of the Congo’s (FARDC) fight against terrorism in the far north of the country.
Ambamba himself was in full command of this military operation, organising troops and scrutinising logistics, thus ensuring a successful outcome for the Congolese military and government.
It was only earlier this year that Julien Paluku, Governor of North Kivu had paid Ambamba a fitting tribute to his military achievements.
The news of General Ambamba’s death has come as a shock to all. He has now finished his stay in the land of men with honour fully intact. The acute cardiovascular event that caused his death does not forgive people their age who work without rest entirely for their country. He was 57 years old.
Sylvain Muyali
Sylvain Muyali is a Journalist, Photographer and Filmmaker from the Democratic Republic of the Congo. He has reported previously for the Associated Press and his words and images can also be found at ‘Vivons Positivement‘