Our Statement on the Assassination of Journalist John Williams Ntwali

Statement

The Global Campaign for Rwandans' Human Rights mourns the death of John Williams Ntwali, the investigative journalist and editor widely described as the last independent journalist in Rwanda, and calls for an independent, transparent and internationally supervised investigation into the circumstances of his death.

John Williams Ntwali, the editor of The Chronicles and the driving force behind the Kigali Today news channel, died in Kigali on the night of 31 January 2023. The authorities say he was struck by a vehicle in a road accident. Very few Rwandans believe them.

What This Reveals

John Williams Ntwali did not die in a country where such deaths are investigated honestly. He died in a country where journalists who expose the truth about poverty, injustice and the private wealth of the ruling elite are harassed, imprisoned and driven into exile. He himself had been summoned, questioned and detained repeatedly over the years for his reporting.

The timing of his death, days after he appeared in court, is entirely consistent with a pattern that every Rwandan recognizes: critics of the government die in unexplained circumstances - in suspicious road accidents, in unexplained falls, in police custody, in apparent suicides - while the authorities close the file and warn the public not to ask questions.

When a government silences journalists, it silences every citizen. Rwanda's few remaining independent voices have been muzzled, jailed or scattered across the diaspora. His death leaves Rwandans with almost no one left inside the country to ask the questions that power refuses to answer.

Our Demands

The Global Campaign for Rwandans' Human Rights demands:

• An independent, transparent and internationally supervised investigation into the death of John Williams Ntwali, with the full participation of international forensic experts and press freedom organisations.
• The preservation and publication of all evidence, including CCTV footage, witness statements and vehicle data.
• Protection for Rwandan journalists, inside the country and in exile, and an end to the campaign of harassment against the press.
• Accountability for every state official who has obstructed the work of journalists in Rwanda.

Our Resolve

Those in power may believe that with John Williams Ntwali gone, their secrets are safe. They are wrong. His death will be answered by the very thing he spent his life doing: the search for truth.

We call on governments, international organisations and press freedom bodies worldwide to treat this case with the seriousness it deserves, and to insist that no journalist in Rwanda be killed with impunity.

We honour his memory, we stand with his family and colleagues, and we pledge to continue his work.

The Global Campaign for Rwandans' Human Rights

Secretariat