Kinshasa, Congo - The 71 year old rector of the international Jesuit study centre outside the Congolese capital Kinshasa was shot and killed by looters after his car was stopped at about 8:00 pm on Saturday night.
Fr René De Haes had spent most of his life in Congo. Two of the looters asked him for money or his car. Then De Haes was shot five times. He was then transferred to the University Hospital, but his life could not be saved.
An alternative account says that three men wearing military uniforms opened fire on Fr De Haes' car after they had completed extorting money from passengers in a minibus. The human rights group Voix de Sans voix says that four others were killed and a further eight wounded on Saturday night by the same band of extortionists.
MISNA says that Fr De Haes was well known for his social work as well as his research.