Dead bodies of three unidentified individuals, all men, were on Friday morning discovered a few metres inside the Rwandan territory, near the country’s borderline with Burundi. The victims, who according to officials seemed to have succumbed to strangulation, were discovered in Nemba Cell, Rweru Sector in Bugesera District. According to eyewitnesses, all victims were young men believed to be between 25 and 30 years of age. They were discovered by members of the Reserve Force of Rwanda Defence Force who were clearing the bush near the border demarcation with Burundi. The bodies had been dumped within at least five metres from the Burundian side. Speaking to The New Times, Oscar Murwanashyaka, the Executive Secretary of Rweru Sector, said that all indications are that the bodies came from the Burundian side. “There are clear marks where bodies were dragged from the Burundian side before they were dumped a few metres inside the Rwandan territory,” Murwanashyaka said in an interview. He said they were discovered around 8am on Friday, July 10, adding that all the victims were completely naked, “a clear indication that someone was trying to ensure they are not identified. “They did not have a single identification on them,” he said. According to eye witnesses, the bodies were still fresh, and it was most likely that the victims had been killed early morning on Friday and dumped there before day break. Speaking to The New Times, Police Spokesperson Commissioner of Police John Bosco Kabera confirmed the incident, saying that investigation teams were already on ground to ascertain the circumstances under which the bodies ended up in Rwanda. After finalizing the analysis of the scene, the bodies will be taken to Nyamata District Hospital for autopsy. This is not the first time mysterious bodies originating from Burundi have ended up at the border area with Rwanda. According to Murwanashyaka, there have been previous incidents where people were killed from across in Burundi and bodies dumped on the Rwandan side or even in Burundi but near the Rwandan border. In 2014, dozens of dead bodies were found floating on Lake Rweru and it turned out they were Burundians killed in Burundi, even after the Burundian Prosecutor General at the time had told the media that they were from Rwanda. Murwanashyaka said that residents around the border area have been told to always share information about any unusual activity in their communities to ensure timely innervations from the authorities.
