A missionary shot by bandits has received a heroine's welcome as she returned to the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).

Maud Kells, 76, was greeted by hundreds of people in Mulita, DRC, where she was shot in her home in January this year. She returned to defend those arrested in connection with her shooting as she believes they are wrongly accused.

"It's all bribery and corruption out there," she previously told Christian Today.

"I've had to pay quite a lot of money to try and get the men out. I tried to find out why my night guard was in prison and was told it was because he had not tried to stop the bandits from shooting me. But there is no way that he could have prevented them.

"I've known these men for all these years.

"I know them inside out and I just know that they wouldn't do anything like that. They were always very supportive in protecting me in the past."

Kells was lured out of her house by a man pretending to be the husband of an ill patient. When she returned she was shot by two bandits.

However Kells spoke of her "great excitement" at returning to the place she considers home.

"It's really nice to see them again... they're always very welcoming," she told the Belfast Telegraph.

A pilot from Mission Aviation Fellowship who flew Kells back to Mulita said the whole community welcomed her home as a heroine. 

"I think we got a slice of the appreciation, the love and the concern that the people had for her, and the joy of having her back again," said Dave Jacobsson. 

As well as the upcoming court case, Kells' return is also motivated by completing work on a nursery she had started building.