A grieving mother, Marthe Mukarwego, has accused Kanombe Military Hospital of concealing the true cause of her son’s death, saying the official explanation does not match what she observed. The hospital has strongly denied any wrongdoing.

“It was not an accident”

Mukarwego says her 24-year-old son was reported to have died in a road accident earlier this year. According to the death certificate issued by Kanombe Military Hospital, he was “dead on arrival” from injuries consistent with a collision.

But she insists the explanation does not add up. “When I saw his body, there were deep wounds that looked nothing like an accident,” she said. “There were marks of gunshots. I knew immediately something was wrong.”

She claims a nurse quietly warned her in confidence that the official story was false. “She whispered to me that the certificate had been written under pressure, and that my son had not died the way they said,” Mukarwego explained.

Ten months of silence

Mukarwego told this newspaper that she had not seen her son for nearly ten months before his death was announced. “The last time we spoke, he told me he was in Uganda for a job and that he would be back soon,” she recalled. “After that, his phone never connected again.”

His friends later told her he had been taken into Congo to fight with rebel forces allegedly supported by Rwanda. “They said many young men were being taken — some by force, others because they were promised large sums of money,” she said.

When she finally saw her son’s body in Kigali, she feared those rumours had been true.

A missing nurse

The case has become even murkier after the nurse who signed her son’s death certificate also disappeared. Colleagues at Kanombe Military Hospital have quietly told relatives that she was taken away by security forces earlier this year and has not been seen since.

For Mukarwego, this deepens her fears. “If the person who signed my son’s papers is now missing, it means something terrible is being hidden,” she said. “Why would a nurse vanish after doing her job unless there was pressure and danger?”

The hospital’s denial

Kanombe Military Hospital rejected the allegations. In a short written statement, an official said:

“Our hospital follows all professional and legal procedures in the handling of deaths. We categorically deny fabricating or falsifying medical records. Any claims suggesting otherwise are baseless.”

The hospital declined to comment on the reported disappearance of the nurse.

Fear of asking questions

Mukarwego says she considered requesting an independent post-mortem but was warned by relatives and neighbours that pushing too hard could put her at risk. “They told me to keep quiet, that asking questions would only bring danger,” she said.

Her son was buried quickly after the hospital released the body. To this day, she remains convinced she has not been told the truth. “If my child died in Congo, fighting a war he never chose, I want to know,” she said. “Why should I be forced to live with lies?”

Broader pattern

Human rights groups have long accused Rwanda of secretly deploying young men to fight in eastern Congo alongside the M23 rebel group. Some are reportedly recruited with promises of high pay; others are said to be coerced.

A Kigali-based lawyer said Mukarwego’s case fits a troubling pattern. “Families are given accident reports when in reality their children have died in conflict,” he said. “The disappearance of a nurse linked to this case only strengthens concerns of a cover-up.”

A mother’s demand

For Mukarwego, the struggle is not only about grief but also about dignity. A framed photo of her son rests in her modest living room, surrounded by candles.

“He was my only child,” she said. “The least I deserve is to know how he really died.”

https://i0.wp.com/inyenyerinews.info/wp-content/uploads/2025/08/RMH-01.png?fit=790%2C465&ssl=1https://i0.wp.com/inyenyerinews.info/wp-content/uploads/2025/08/RMH-01.png?resize=140%2C140&ssl=1Placide KayitareHUMAN RIGHTSRWANDAA grieving mother, Marthe Mukarwego, has accused Kanombe Military Hospital of concealing the true cause of her son’s death, saying the official explanation does not match what she observed. The hospital has strongly denied any wrongdoing. “It was not an accident” Mukarwego says her 24-year-old son was reported to have died...PUBLISHING YOUR NEWS WITH CUTTING EDGE STYLE