Ambassador Jacques Bihozagara dead, cause of his death remain unclear

Jacques Bihozagara

Ambassador Jacques Bihozagara, a former Rwandan envoy to Brussels has died. The diplomat is reported to have been assassinated in Burundi’s Mpimba prison where he was jailed.

His death has shocked many, with scores of people taking to social media to mouth their condolences. Conspiracy theorists rushed to point fingers to the cause of his death which will leave unanswered questions floating.

Rwanda’s envoy to Burundi ambassador Amandin Rugira said that the circumstances around Bihozagara’s death are not yet clear, however, trusted source said that the diplomat could have died of poison.

According to reports Bihozagara was arrested last year December and imprisoned at Mpimba prison over allegations of espionage.

Olivier Nduhungirehe, Rwanda’s ambassador in Belgium also twitted, “Saddened by assassination in a Burundian prison, of Amb Jacques #Bihozagara one of my predecessors in Belgium.”

Bihozagara served Rwanda as Rehabilitation and Social Integration minister and later as Youth, Sports and Culture minister, in addition to serving as an ambassador of Rwanda to France and Belgium.  By the time of his arrest he had left politics and set himself to doing business in Burundi.

Relations between Rwanda and Burundi have been at the lowest levels, with Bujumbura accusing Kigali of supporting its opponents and serving as a base for a rebellion against Bujumbura.

The UN Human rights body said that continued human rights violations, and impunity for perpetrators, mean that many people in Burundi live in terror, according Zeid Ra’ad Al Hussein, United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights.