Our Statement on the Assassination of Patrick Karegeya in South Africa

On 1 January 2014, Patrick Karegeya, Rwanda's former head of external intelligence who later co-founded the Rwanda National Congress (RNC) and became one of the most prominent critics of the Kigali regime, was found dead in a room at the Lake Malawi Suites hotel in Johannesburg, South Africa. A post-mortem examination established that he was strangled. There was no forced entry and no robbery: the perpetrators waited for their target, killed him, and left the country. ## A calculated, targeted killing Karegeya's death was not random violence. He had publicly renounced violence and dedicated himself to peaceful opposition politics in exile. A court-ordered inquest and subsequent reporting established that at least three men, some travelling on forged or misused passports, met him at the hotel and left South Africa within days, before they could be questioned. A Rwandan diplomat was implicated and expelled from South Africa; a subsequent arbitration ruled that the diplomat had been denied fair process, but the fundamental facts remain undisputed: Karegeya was strangled in his own room, and the suspects escaped with impunity. The Rwandan authorities denied any involvement. But the pattern is familiar to anyone who follows the fate of Rwandan exiles: vocal critics abroad are discredited, threatened, attacked, or killed, and those responsible walk away untouched. As we have said before, including in our statements on the attempt on René Mugenzi's life in London, the abduction of Paul Rusesabagina, and the killing of journalist John Williams Ntwali, the machinery of transnational repression against Rwandans extends far beyond Rwanda's borders. ## Twelve years without justice It is now more than a decade since Karegeya's murder. The South African police investigation has stalled; no one has ever been charged, arrested, or extradited. His family and his colleagues in the opposition continue to press for answers while the trail goes cold. Every year of delay deepens the message sent to Rwandan dissidents everywhere: you are not safe, and your killers will not be punished. ## Our demands - The Government of South Africa must reopen and properly resource the investigation into Patrick Karegeya's murder, and pursue extradition or prosecution of the identified suspects.

• The international community, including the African Union and UN human rights mechanisms, must treat the assassination as part of a documented pattern of transnational repression and act accordingly.
• Every state hosting Rwandan exiles must provide real protection and openly condemn, rather than tolerate, foreign-backed attacks on refugees and dissidents on their soil.
• Kigali must submit to independent international investigation, not denial: the burden of proof it refuses to shoulder does not lighten with time. Patrick Karegeya believed he could speak freely from exile. His murder was meant to prove otherwise. The Global Campaign for Rwandans' Human Rights will continue to demand justice for him, and protection for every Rwandan who exercises the right to disagree.