Ex-Congo public health minister accused of COVID-19 fraud
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By JEAN-YVES KAMALE
Associated Press
KINSHASA, Congo (AP) — Authorities have arrested Congo’s former public health minister on allegations he misappropriated more than $1 million in funds allocated by the World Bank to fight the COVID-19 pandemic. Dr. Eteni Longondo was taken to the central prison of Makala following an hours-long court proceeding in Kinshasa on Friday. At a news conference earlier this week, the former health minister denied there had ever been any misappropriation of COVID-19 funds. Longondo was health minister from the earliest days of the pandemic in Congo until being replaced this past April.