In a disturbing revelation, the investigative work of Forbidden Stories has uncovered that Anne Rwigara, a 41-year-old genocide survivor and sister of Rwandan opposition figure Diane Rwigara, was targeted by Pegasus, a powerful spyware tool sold by the Israeli company NSO Group to state intelligence services. Anne died unexpectedly in California on December 28, 2023, after a brief complaining of stomach pain.

These findings raise serious concerns about the safety of all Rwandan citizens, including genocide survivors who may have previously believed they were immune to the repressive tactics of Paul Kagame’s regime. The revelations also show the urgent need for increased scrutiny of the government’s actions and the importance of protecting the rights and lives of all individuals, regardless of their background or political affiliations.

The Rwigara family’s tragic history, which includes the mysterious death of their father Assinapol in 2015 and the imprisonment of Diane and her mother Adeline following Diane’s attempt to run for president in 2017, appears to be part of a larger pattern of persecution by state forces. The targeting of Anne Rwigara’s phone with Pegasus spyware in February 2019 suggests that this persecution extended to invasive surveillance measures.

As someone who had previously expressed suspicions about the circumstances surrounding Anne Rwigara’s death, I find these latest revelations deeply troubling. The deployment of sophisticated tools like Pegasus to monitor her activities points to a disturbing level of scrutiny that may have played a role in her untimely death, which I believe could have been the result of state-orchestrated violence.

The fact that Gatera Gashabana, the lawyer who represented the Rwigara family, was also targeted by the spyware further illustrates the lengths to which the Kagame regime appears willing to go to intimidate and silence perceived threats or opposition.

While Rwanda has denied using Pegasus, this new evidence paints a chilling picture of a regime that is willing to employ invasive surveillance and resort to violent means to maintain control. Read the entire findings of the Rwanda Classified project, published jointly by 17 media outlets and coordinated by Forbidden Stories.

By Albert Gasake