Rwanda: a Burundian refugee killed in Kigali

It is a truck driver living in Masaka, a neighborhood on the southern outskirts of Kigali. He is said to have had his throat strangled by people including Rwandans after a fight in a bistro. Police say they have started investigations. INFO SOS Médias Burundi

First, there were photos and videos circulating on social media, especially Burundians, refugees in Rwanda. The images show a young man in a yellow sweater, being manhandled by two young men, trying to cut his throat.

“It was Muhizi Emmanuel (nicknamed NYAMA NONO), a truck driver doing Kigali-Dar-Es Salaam transport connections. He was being slaughtered by three men, including a security guard at a bistro where he was quenching his thirst, late at night. The owner of the bar is an officer of the Rwandan police”, testify his friends.

The police were alerted.

“The policeman who is visible in the photo came to rescue the victim, but he arrived a little late, the crime was already almost complete. The victim was not rescued in time”, they regret.

Muhizi Emmanuel did not die on the spot. He was first held in a police cell.

“Agonizing, he was put in a police cell in Kabuga, accused of assault and battery whereas he was the victim. A day later, he died in the same cell”, they add.

Anger is rising among Burundian refugees.

“It is a pity in a country like Rwanda that a refugee is killed, with his throat slit, again in a bar owned by a police officer from the investigation bureau, RIB! Let the perpetrators be tracked down and punished, even these Rwandans, otherwise popular justice may follow this case. His friends swear to take revenge”, affirm his friends of the neighborhood.

Police say they have started investigations.

“The Rwandan investigation bureau RIB has been seized. Those who took part in this attack were all arrested. They are being prosecuted”, reacted RIB spokesperson Thierry Murangira on Twitter.

The victim’s body has not yet been buried. It is in the morgue of the Kacyiru police hospital in the capital Kigali.

“We do fingerprint checks there for crimes like this. This is how we determine the real perpetrators”, say police sources.

The Urban Refugee Community Executive Committee is asking refugees to keep quiet and wait for the results of police investigations. Rather, it requires positive solidarity with the family of the single man.