Aimable Karasira Uzaramba
Monday, 11 May 2026 | Author – Chris Ogada | Nairobi, Kenya| GT-News |
The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) has called for an independent investigation into the death of Rwandan YouTube commentator and government critic Aimable Karasira Uzaramba, who died on the day he was due to be released from prison.
Rwanda Correctional Service (RCS) said the 48-year-old died at Nyarugenge Hospital in Kigali after overdosing on prescribed medication.
In a statement, prison authorities said Karasira took the medication after completing pre-release procedures before being rushed to the hospital, where he died around midnight on Wednesday. Officials said a post-mortem examination was underway.
But the circumstances surrounding his death have raised fresh scrutiny over Rwanda’s treatment of critics and detainees.
“Aimable Karasira Uzaramba’s death in state custody on the day he was expected to finally walk free is devastating,” CPJ Africa Programme Coordinator Muthoki Mumo said.
“Given past reports that Karasira was tortured behind bars and his unjust, five-year detention, Rwandan authorities clearly have questions to answer.”
Karasira, a former university lecturer, was arrested in May 2021 after posting commentary critical of the government on his YouTube channel, Ukuri Mbona (“The Truth as I See It”), and appearing on other online platforms.
He frequently challenged official narratives surrounding the 1994 Rwandan genocide, in which at least 800,000 people, mainly ethnic Tutsis and moderate Hutus, were killed. Karasira himself was a Tutsi and had publicly spoken about losing relatives during the genocide.
Rwandan prosecutors charged him with genocide denial, genocide justification, inciting divisions and causing unrest. In September 2025, a court acquitted him of all charges except inciting divisions and sentenced him to five years in prison.
During his detention, Karasira alleged that he had been assaulted, deprived of sleep and denied medical treatment. His lawyers also argued repeatedly that he suffered from mental health problems and was unfit to stand trial.
The courts ordered several psychiatric evaluations, which produced differing conclusions. The latest assessment in 2023 found him fit to stand trial.
CPJ said Karasira was one of five journalists imprisoned in Rwanda at the end of 2025, four of them YouTubers. The organisation ranked Rwanda among the leading jailers of journalists in sub-Saharan Africa.
Rights groups have long accused Rwanda of restricting freedom of expression and targeting critics both inside and outside the country — allegations Kigali denies.
The case has drawn comparisons with the 2020 death in police custody of gospel musician Kizito Mihigo, whose death authorities ruled a suicide. Human Rights Watch described Mihigo’s death as “suspicious”, and questions surrounding the case remain unresolved.
Requests for comment from the Rwandan authorities went unanswered.
