Rights groups urge Rwanda to investigate death of musician-activist

Mihigo, 38, was found dead at Remera Police Station in Kigali on 17 February 2020. Authorities in Rwanda claim that Mihigo committed suicide.  

On 20 February, the Central Africa director at Human Rights Watch, Lewis Mudge, issued a statement calling for a "thorough, independent and transparent investigation" into Mihigo’s death. He urged Rwanda's international partners to mount pressure on the government to probe the death of the prominent activist prior and during the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting, which will take place in the Rwandan capital in June.

“Whatever the cause of Kizito Mihigo’s death, Rwandan police were responsible for his life and safety in detention,” Mudge said. “When it comes to rule of law and respect for human rights, Rwanda’s partners and donors should not be silent. They should call for a credible investigation and an unequivocal commitment to delivering justice for this critical case.”

The Rwanda Investigation Bureau’s spokesperson, Marie Michelle Umuhoza, told the BBC that “Rwanda is an independent, sovereign state capable of carrying out investigations on anything. I don’t see the point for that other independent investigation, in an independent country."

Umuhoza added that further investigations were ongoing and that Mohigo's family was free to bury him.

According to local media, Mihigo was arrested on 13 February for allegedly trying to bribe local residents in the southern Nyaruguru District so he could cross the border into Burundi. But the locals handed him over to the police and he was charged with corruption and trying to cross the border illegally. The police also accused him of attempting to flee the country to join rebel groups fighting against Rwanda.

The Global Campaign for Rwandan's Human Rights (GCRHR) issued a statement last week, accusing the authorities of killing Mihigo.   

"We condemn the attempt by the police to mislead the Rwandan public and international media. Kizito was in fact killed after intense questioning and extreme torture by a group of policemen coordinated and commanded by Brig-Gen Dan Munyuza," the GCRHR said. 

"The murder of Kizito follows many other staged and arranged assassinations of human rights activists, political activists and journalists in the last 25 years. We request the Rwandan security services to immediately cease the harassment and assassinations of all those that criticise the Rwandan government’s policies and actions."

In 2015, Mihigo was sentenced to 10 years in prison after he pleaded guilty to conspiracy to murder President Paul Kagame and other leaders in Rwanda.

Local media reported that his song 'Igisobanuro Cy’urupfu' (The Meaning of Death), released in 2014 days before the 20th commemoration of the Rwandan genocide, could have triggered his arrest. The song is widely seen as challenging the officially accepted narrative of the Rwandan genocide – subtly hinting at crimes allegedly committed by the ruling party, the Rwanda Patriotic Front.

In September 2018, Mihigo was given a presidential pardon, along with 2 000 other prisoners, and banned from leaving Rwanda.