The Great Lakes Human Rights Link is again seriously concerned with the continued extra- judicial killings by the Rwandan Police.

While the Rwandan government abolished the death penalty, the number of people who have been extra – judiciary murdered has surpassed the number of people who were lawfully executed after Genocide when the Rwandan government had the death penalty law.

Without counting the daily enforced disappearances of the Rwandan Citizens, it’s now overdue that the Rwandan Police in particular and the Rwandan Government in general are held accountable for these crimes against humanity committed against the Rwandan people.

The Rwandan Human Rights organizations should hang their heads in shame as they have failed the Rwandan people by either keeping silence or deliberately ignoring the crimes the Rwandan police and other security agencies have committed and committing against the Rwandan people.

Accordingly the Great Lakes Human Rights   Link is seriously concerned of hundreds — perhaps thousands of Rwandan people who were abducted or arrested in Rwanda last year and subsequently disappeared without trace or explanation.

On Thursday Muhammad Mugemangango who was under the police custody at Kanombe police station was shot dead by the police. According to the Police Muhamed Mugemangango was escorted to his home at Kimironko to search his house and was shot dead while trying to escape.

It is inconceivable that the Rwandan police that claim to be professional and operating under the rule of law could act unprofessionally and murder innocent person just because he is a suspect of whatever crime.

The Rwandan police should be reminded that a suspect is innocent until is proven guilty by a competent court under the law of the Land.

Again we call upon the Rwandan Government to investigate the disappearance of other two people who had gone to the University of Huye in the former Butare and are now reported missing.

The silence of our politicians, religious leaders and just about everyone in power is a definite nod of approval for abductions and killings.

The government has won the propaganda war and is rewarded with a carte blanche to eliminate anyone and everyone condemned as a terrorist or who disagrees with their brutal regime.

But this systematic state policy of abductions, disappearances and eliminations is not a new phenomenon. It began during and after Genocide in 1994, many Rwandans have been killed, disappeared, or ended up in incarceration

When the enforced disappearances are systematic, prolonged and clinically carried out, we should worry.

When no voice of outrage or protest is heard you wonder what group will be the next target. The apathy, indifference and resignation about disappearances and extrajudicial killings mean we have not interiorized the values enshrined in our Constitution starting with the right to life and a fair trial for each accused person. The right to life is not sacred in Rwanda; it has many exceptions.

We should remind the Rwandan Police that will be held accountable as an institution but its leaders will be held accountable individually at an appropriate time

Noble Marara

Executive Secretary

Great Lakes Human Rights Link.