Emilsen Manyoma was the leader of the Comunidades Construyendo Paz en los Territorios (Communities Building Peace in the Territories, CONPAZ) in Buenaventura. CONPAZ is an initiative of communities and organisations that live in territories where the armed conflict is taking place and national and international companies are present. CONPAZ is also a mutual support network for communities to be able to exchange experiences relating to non-violent protection and application of international humanitarian law.

Emilsen Manyoma was also a supporter of the Espacio Humanitario Puente Nayero (Humanitarian Space Puente Nayero), a space created in 13 April 2014 in the neighbourhood of Playita, in Buenaventura. The purpose of the project is to create a space free from armed groups in an urban context. From mid-2016 onwards, human rights defender Emilsen Manyoma had also been supporting the work of the Truth Commission by documenting killings and forced disappearances.

She was killed along with her husband, Joe Javier Rodallega, on 17 January 2017. Their bodies were found with bruises, stab wounds and gunshot wounds in the neighbourhood of el Progreso in Buenaventura.

“Camilo Robledo” has been identified as the presumed perpetrator of the crime. “Camilo Robledo,” is in fact Emilsen’s brother. His real name is Marco Antonio Manyoma Ocampo and he was a member the FARC until December 2016, when he deserted. According to the FARC, when the deserter abandoned them, he took with him money and the weapons which he later used to commit the crimes against his sister and brother-in-law.

After he deserted from FARC Marco Antonio returned to Buenaventura where he was seen spending a lot of money, getting drunk and causing trouble. His behaviour was so bad that his sister Emilsen challenged, him pointing out that the money he was spending was not his. In reply he sent her a series of death threats and in the end this is what happened. He killed his own sister and brother in-law.

Emilsen Manyoma was the leader of the Comunidades Construyendo Paz en los Territorios (Communities Building Peace in the Territories, CONPAZ) in Buenaventura. CONPAZ is an initiative of communities and organisations that live in territories where the armed conflict is taking place and national and international companies are present. CONPAZ is also a mutual support network for communities to be able to exchange experiences relating to non-violent protection and application of international humanitarian law.

Emilsen Manyoma was also a supporter of the Espacio Humanitario Puente Nayero (Humanitarian Space Puente Nayero), a space created in 13 April 2014 in the neighbourhood of Playita, in Buenaventura. The purpose of the project is to create a space free from armed groups in an urban context. From mid-2016 onwards, human rights defender Emilsen Manyoma had also been supporting the work of the Truth Commission by documenting killings and forced disappearances.

She was killed along with her husband, Joe Javier Rodallega, on 17 January 2017. Their bodies were found with bruises, stab wounds and gunshot wounds in the neighbourhood of el Progreso in Buenaventura.

“Camilo Robledo” has been identified as the presumed perpetrator of the crime. “Camilo Robledo,” is in fact Emilsen’s brother. His real name is Marco Antonio Manyoma Ocampo and he was a member the FARC until December 2016, when he deserted. According to the FARC, when the deserter abandoned them, he took with him money and the weapons which he later used to commit the crimes against his sister and brother-in-law.

After he deserted from FARC Marco Antonio returned to Buenaventura where he was seen spending a lot of money, getting drunk and causing trouble. His behaviour was so bad that his sister Emilsen challenged, him pointing out that the money he was spending was not his. In reply he sent her a series of death threats and in the end this is what happened. He killed his own sister and brother in-law.