Rwanda must provide answers on fate of abducted brothers Jean Nsengimana and Antoine Zihabamwe: UN experts

GENEVA – The UN Working Group on Enforced or Involuntary Disappearances has renewed calls for Rwanda to reveal the fate and whereabouts of brothers Jean Nsengimana and Antoine Zihabamwe, who were taken off a bus by police in September 2019 and have not been seen or heard from since.

“It’s been a painful five years since the brothers were abducted and we urge the Rwandan authorities to comply with the country’s international human rights obligations and ensure that their fate and whereabouts are established, and that adequate investigations are conducted and those responsible are held accountable,” the UN experts said.

Nsengimana and Zihabamwe were abducted on 28 September 2019 while traveling on a bus from Kigali to the Nyagatare District, in the Eastern Province of Rwanda. Police stopped the bus in the Karangazi area, identified the brothers and took them away.

“Since their abduction, relatives of Mr. Nsengimana and Mr. Zihabamwe have relentlessly sought to ascertain the truth about their disappearance, even when faced with threats and reprisals for doing so,” the experts said.

The cases of Nsengimana and Zihabamwe were registered and transmitted to the Government of Rwanda by the Working Group on 15 October 2021. The two cases remain outstanding.

“Rwanda is bound by the Declaration on the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearance, and has an obligation to promptly investigate, search for all disappeared persons and hold those responsible for these crimes accountable,” the experts said.

The Working Group has also raised concerns about the alleged abduction and extraordinary rendition of a Rwandan human rights defender, residing as a refugee in Kenya and transferred to Rwanda, where he is believed to be detained.

“The families of all disappeared persons need answers from the Rwandan authorities,” the experts said. “Relatives have the right to know the truth about the circumstances of an enforced disappearance, the progress and results of an investigation and the fate of the disappeared person.”

The experts also regretted that Rwanda is still not a State party to the International Convention on the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearances, the only core human rights treaty it has not ratified or agreed to.

“We urge Rwandan authorities to become a State party of the International Convention and to refrain from taking any action that would be contrary to its object and purpose. We also reiterate our availability to engage in a constructive dialogue with the Government of Rwanda and support its efforts to comply with its international human rights obligations,” the experts said.