A Belgian IT expert deployed by the European Union for the December elections has died in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). He fell from the twelfth floor of his hotel on Saturday night, the official Congolese news agency ACP reported.
“The man jumped at around 3am (local time) after a telephone conversation. He died instantly,” a guest at the Hilton hotel in Kinshasa told ACP. The witness was in the bar at the time.
“The man was an IT expert of Belgian nationality. It was deployed in the context of the EU election observation mission in the DRC,” says a European diplomat who wishes to remain anonymous.
The Congolese public prosecutor’s office has since opened an investigation to determine whether the death was the result of a crime or suicide. “The second hypothesis is preferable,” say at least two European diplomatic sources. “Before he jumped to his death, the Belgian had left a voicemail message for his daughter,” a source close to the investigation recalls.
Anyone who has questions about suicide can contact the Suicide Line via the toll-free number 1813 or at www.zelfbloed1813.be.
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