My first blog post of 2024 is a sad one. I had hoped to start the year with something lighter, but the tragic and puzzling death of Anne Rwigara weighs on me.
Anne, a fellow survivor and member of Igicumbi, one of the few independent survivor organizations, passed away under suspicious circumstances on December 28, 2023. Her life was short but brave, and those who tried to break her never took away her kindness.
In her 41 years, Anne endured more persecution than most people face in a lifetime. Her father, Assinapol Rwigara, a prosperous Tutsi businessman, had supported Rwanda’s RPF/RPA rebels since the 1990s. Like many Rwandans, he believed they would establish a government upholding equal rights and the rule of law. Tragically, the rebels he backed merely replaced one ruthless dictatorship with another, even more brutal one.
The current regime harassed and intimidated Assinapol, killing him in 2015 in what appeared to be a staged accident. They wrongly imprisoned his wife and two daughters, Anne and Diane, on baseless charges. They demolished his hotel and seized his tobacco factory, lands, and shares in most Rwandan firms. In a final act of cruelty, many suspect they poisoned Anne too.
Through all of this, Anne’s spirit never broke. When I met her last August, I expected to find an angry, embittered young woman. Instead, I met someone who radiated life and laughter, with no ill will toward her oppressors. At multiple Igicumbi gatherings, I never heard her speak negatively about those who caused her family such suffering.
The cause of Anne’s death remains officially unknown, with her family describing it to the BBC as “mysterious.” However, her friends have little doubt about who might be responsible. Since her father’s murder in 2015, the Rwigaras have lived in constant danger of assassination, forcing Anne to take security precautions wherever she went.
Furthermore, as a direct witness to her father’s unresolved murder, Anne posed a threat beyond seeking financial damages or criticizing the regime. She bravely made public the disturbing details she observed firsthand. Anne testified that upon arriving at the scene of her father’s so-called “accident,” she saw him denied medical help and zipped into a body bag while still alive. Later, she uncovered further evidence of foul play in her father’s death. With what she had seen, Anne simply knew too much. That made her dangerous to those who wanted the truth hidden.
In addition to the truth she carried, Anne posed another threat: she had the legal right to contest the regime’s seizure of her family’s assets. As the appointed guardian of the Rwigara family’s holdings, she represented a financial danger to those who had illicitly appropriated their businesses and stakes in major companies. This included COGEBank, one of Rwanda’s largest banks and a firm where her family held majority shares. The bank was controversially sold in June 2023 to the Equity Holdings Group, a foreign investor, in a deal with the regime for nearly $50 million, one more example of the regime’s grab of assets that Anne was ready to challenge.
Some believe the regime also worried that Anne, like Paul Rusesabagina’s daughters, would wage a successful justice campaign in the US, intensifying international scrutiny of Rwanda’s human rights abuses.
Could such fears have motivated the Rwandan regime to target her? It seems plausible, given Rwanda’s worsening image abroad over human rights abuses at home and by its proxy groups in DR Congo. The last thing the regime wanted was another determined daughter in the United States, fighting for her family’s justice.
Anne’s death is not just a family tragedy. It is a reminder of how far an oppressive regime will go to silence its critics.
Anne faced evil without giving in, and everyone who knew her remembers her smile and her kindness. May she rest in peace.
By Albert Gasake, January 13, 2024
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