Perpetrators Pay the Penalty
WHEN reports of the massacre reached Kinshasa, government authorities took steps to ensure that justice would be done. For this, the authorities are to be commended.
Trucks and military personnel were dispatched to the region. Eventually, the perpetrators were rounded up and brought to trial in the district court of Kindu, Kivu.
Judging the case was not easy, for the judges experienced constant threats and pressure to pervert justice. Huge bribes were offered to them. When the guilty verdict was handed down, they even received an anonymous letter saying that Kimbilikiti would avenge himself upon them.
Interestingly, even during the trial the defendants insisted that Kimbilikiti was a spirit and that this spirit pushed them to act. During the hearing, Judge Tumba wisely arranged for the Kimbilikiti instruments to be sounded within earshot of the courtroom. He reasoned that if Kimbilikiti was a spirit, the sound of the instruments would have no effect on the Rega people in the courtroom. The result? When the weird sounds were produced, there was an uproar in the courtroom. The women fled in terror, fearing that they might see Kimbilikiti and be put to death. The men hung their heads in shame and left the courtroom, leaving behind only the defendants, the court personnel, and some spectators not of the Rega tribe. So once again Kimbilikiti was exposed as a superstitious hoax holding the Rega people in captivity.
The Kindu court sentenced to death six of those directly responsible for the murders. A number of others received prison sentences and fines. Additionally, some compensation was ordered for the bereaved widows. (The sentences were appealed to a higher court at Bukavu, Kivu.)
The responsible action of the authorities calls to mind the apostle Paul’s words: “Those ruling are an object of fear, not to the good deed, but to the bad. . . . [The authority] is God’s minister, an avenger to express wrath upon the one practicing what is bad.” (Romans 13:1-4) Thus Jehovah’s Witnesses continue to make “supplications, prayers, intercessions, offerings of thanks . . . concerning all sorts of men, concerning kings and all those who are in high station; in order that we may go on leading a calm and quiet life with full godly devotion and seriousness.” Paul added: “This is fine and acceptable in the sight of our Savior, God, whose will is that all sorts of men should be saved and come to an accurate knowledge of truth.”—1 Timothy 2:1-4.
As a result of these events in Pangi, we are convinced that many sincere Rega people will “come to an accurate knowledge of truth” and will thus be freed from the bondage of superstitious deception. For these and other honest-hearted people around the earth, Jehovah’s Witnesses will continue to search. We are delighted, indeed, to act in faith and share Kingdom truth with all lovers of righteousness, even to the remotest parts of Africa.