Celebrities demand justice for death of Congolese in Rio de Janeiro

Celebrities used social media on Tuesday (1st) to ask for justice for the death of Congolese Moise Mugenyi Kabagambe, 24. Family members said he was beaten to death after asking for back wages at the kiosk where he worked as a kitchen help, in Barra da Tijuca, west side of Rio.

Presenter Eliana, 48, joined the hashtag “justice for Moise” on social media. She shared photos of the young man and excerpts from news reports to explain what happened to him. “Lord, comfort this mother’s heart,” she wrote.

Actress Bruna Lombardi, 69, shared a post on Instagram with a black background of mourning saying that Rio de Janeiro is not still beautiful. The message also says that there is no beauty that coexists with the savagery that kills a 24-year-old who dares to collect his salary. “How do we let this barbarism arrive?”, asks the actress.

Actress Fabiula Nascimento, 43, shared the same post as Bruna Lombardi asking for the arrest of the Congolese killers. “She went after her rights and met her death. Disgrace disguised as ‘people’. Let the murderers pay for what they did.”

Actress Cláudia Abreu, 51, posted a report on social media and commented: “Barbárie”. Actor Lúcio Mauro Filho, 47, spoke of the cruelty they did to the Congolese. “What cruelty my God! What are we turning into? What examples are we setting for the new generations? All very sad. Former wonderful city”, he wrote.

Actress Paolla Oliveira, 39, shared a cartoon by the Congolese who asks people not to normalize barbarism. She wrote that the dead youth was brutally and cowardly murdered by five people.

“Moise leaves his mother, relatives, friends and a country he believed was his new home, where he could rebuild his life. All those responsible for this barbarity must pay. Everyone. We cannot normalize brutality and savagery,” wrote Paolla.

The author of novels Walcyr Carrasco, 70, said he was shocked to learn of the young man’s death and asked for the punishment of those responsible for the crime. “I think of the pain of this mother who lost her son in an absurd way. I think of this young man who just wanted to receive his salary and was beaten to death. It’s impossible to continue like this. We have to fight impunity in every way!”

Actress Taís Araújo, 43, calls for urgent justice and says that barbarism cannot be transformed into naturalness. According to her, Brazil transformed slavery, which was a great barbarism, into a normal thing. She says that people romanticize and reproduce colonial Brazil to this day.

Taís warns that the absurdity is that Moise’s death by beating is not the first to be told in this way. “I don’t even have words to describe an atrocity like this. How can I console this family? It’s very lacking in humanity, it’s very absurd. It’s urgent that the entire civil society rises up and demands justice because this definitely cannot be repeated!”

Presenter and comedian Tatá Wenerck, 38, shared excerpts from a report on Instagram about the young man’s murder. She said she did it for people to read and see the pain level of Moise’s mother.

“A mother having to see that her son was beaten who went to get a salary. A mother going through this pain. For God’s sake humanity, where is humanity?”, questioned the actress.