RUTSHURU - Williams Mulahya Hassan Hussein, the magistrate investigating the death of Italian Ambassador to the Congo Luca Attanasio, was himself murdered on the same road in Virunga National Park as Attanasio just eight days earlier, police said.

  The judge was travelling from Goma back to his offices in Ruthsuru along National Route 2 at around 7:00 or 8:00 p.m. on March 2 when he was ambushed near Katale. Travelling in the convoy was also Colonel Lumbu, commander of the 3409th regiment of the Congolese Army, who was seriously injured. It is also believed that one of the assailants was killed in the ensuing shootout, and his weapon recovered.

  The Italian organisation 'Geopolitical Center' has alleged that Mulahya was investigating the murder of Attanasio, though this has not been confirmed by official sources.

  The judge had previously led investigations into various crimes within the armed forces, including last year convicting a soldier of abusing a young girl, and sentencing Colonel Liwenge Eboko and some of his men to 16 months in prison for poaching in Virunga National Park, the site of the attack.

  According to a statement released by the Congolese Army, as reported by 'MncTv Congo', the ambush was carried out by soldiers of the 3416th regiment. "They were harassing the population on the street, and when they saw the military Jeep they began to shoot at it. The Colonel was injured on the top of his buttocks and was killed on the spot."

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