Community activist falls to his death in Rwanda

By Samba Cyuzuzo

Bukuru Ntwari, a campaigner against threats to Banyamulenge people living in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, has died after falling from a commercial building in Rwanda’s capital Kigali, his family has said.

His death on Wednesday morning was widely reported as suspected suicide by local media.

However family members have told the BBC that they suspect "a pre-planned murder of our lead voice", one close relative to Mr Ntwari said.

Rwanda’s investigation bureau said it has launched a probe into the death.

Mr Ntwari, a lawyer, had been an outspoken advocate against "killings of Banyamulenge" in their home region of DR Congo’s South Kivu province. He called it "genocide".

Several ethnically linked armed groups fighting each other in that region are accused of attacks against groups that live in the mountainous region.

Some are reportedly backed by the governments of either Burundi or Rwanda, which the countries’ authorities have denied.

This article was originally published by BBC News. [Photo: Courtesy]