On Tuesday the 23rd June, 2015 in the evening between 19h00 and 20h00 at Nairobi, Mr. Jean Chrysostome NTIRUGIRIBAMBE was abducted by unidentified persons when he was on the way back to his home in maziwa, Kamiti Road, Nairobi-Kenya.
Mr. NTIRUGIRIBAMBE left his home in his car a few hours before going to do shopping at Thika Road Mall (TRM). On his way home, he stopped at a popular market located in Tana-Zimmerman, where he usually used to do shopping and he was quite known by local business owners as a regular customer.
While doing his shopping, he was suddenly stopped by three individuals who claimed to be Kenyan police officers who then brought him to their car and start forcibly embarking him into their car. He first called out the business owners whom he knew, the tension raised up causing some people to intervene asking why he was being forced into these men’s car Without even taking Mr. NTIRUGIRIBAMBE’s car with them. These false police, instead of confirming their identities, one of them pulled out a gun and threatened those who wanted to intervene.
This caused a panic, people were afraid and started running away. The kidnappers then forcibly embarked Mr. NTIRUGIRIBAMBE into their car. According to eyewitnesses: “these men forced Mr. NTIRUGIRIBAMBE into their car, when he tried to resist, one of the men fired into the air with his pistol and then forced him into a black wagon car”. After the abduction, a local shop owner called the local police who came and towed the car of Mr. NTURUGIRIBAMBE.
In the next morning, on the 24th June, 2015 his daughter as someone who had not seen her father coming back in the night and found that the evening meal was not touched, was worried and tried to contact her father all day. His mobile phone was ringing but no one was answering. She then contacted friends of the family, who also tried to contact him without success. On Thursday the 25th June, 2015 the family went to the Kasarani police station; and got very surprised to find their father’s car parked there.
When they asked about how the car get there, a policewoman told them that she had received a call from the local shop owner who asked them to pick the car of Mr. NTIRUGIRIBAMBE as after the abduction the car stayed there. The police also confirmed that it was not police who have arrested the missing person. After hearing out the eyewitnesses, the police said it would begin research to try to identify the kidnappers and return the kidnapped person.
Terram Pacis report
Terram Pacis is gravely concerned about the abduction of Mr. Jean Chrysostome Ntirugiribambe in Nairobi on 23th June, 2015. Our investigation report indicate that he was abducted at gunpoint from his car. The Kenyan police have been notified and are investigating, but there has been no information about Mr Ntirugiribambe’s whereabouts.
In the end of last, the Kenyan police claimed to have found a former police Mr. Abson Maleya whose car was used in the abduction. The Kenyan police has refused to arrest him, and order him to come at the police station on Monday the 06th July, 2015 but Mr. Abson has refused to show up until today. The pressure is being put on the Kenyan police to bring this man to just and explain how his car is connected to the abduction.
We fear that Mr Ntirugiribambe is not a victim of an ordinary robbery: valuables, including his laptop, were left untouched by those who abducted him. Mr Ntirugiribambe had been threatened in relation to the 13th November, 2014 Nairobi abduction of Emile Gafirita, key eyewitness in the French investigation on the missile attack of the 06th April 1994 on the Habyarimana presidential airplane.
Mr Ntirugiribambe has been a well-known figure in the Rwandan community for decades. He is a former officer in the Rwandan gendarmerie. He received training from the US Army in intelligence in 1990, and was assigned to protect VIP units during the Habyarimana government. In July 1994, he served as a Captain in the Rwandan Army Force (FAR). Since the early 2000’s, Mr Ntirugiribambe has been a Legal Assistant and Investigator for the Defence in the “Military II” case; in which of the Accused were acquitted on appeal, and the sentence of a third Accused (for whom Mr Ntirugiribambe was on the team) was reduced. He worked on other cases including Government II and the Nizeyimana trials. Since 2010, he has been working at Terram Pacis as an analyst and researcher.
He has been working at Terram pacis along with Major Emmanuel Munyaruguru (has been missing for almost year) as analysts and researchers on the humanitarian crisis in Rwanda and finding durable solutions to the Rwandan refugees problems. We therefore, believe that Jean Chrysostome Ntirugiribambe was targeted at this time because of his activities at the ICTR and at Terram Pacis, which are viewed as being in opposition to the current Rwandan regime under President Paul Kagame.
The Kagame regime is under intense pressure, especially with the recent U.K. decision to proceed with extradition proceedings to Spain against Lt. Gen. Karenzi Karake.
Career Experience
Legal Assistant and Investigator at ICTR
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Defense assistance to the court, prosecution and defense evidence analysis, final briefs redaction, Trial judgement analysis for Appeal brief, legal research;
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Defense Investigations, Interviewing witnesses, site visits, collecting and gathering defense evidence & exhibits to the court, liaise with witness and victims protection.
Defense Investigator
May 2001 – Present
Legal Assistant
2001 – Present
Defense Legal Assistant
2008 – 2012
Defense Investigator
May 2001 – August 2011
Analyst and researcher at Terram Pacis
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Since 2010, Mr. NTIRUGIRIBAMBE has been working at Terram Pacis as an analyst, human rights activist and a social researcher along with Emmanuel Munyaruguru who also is missing since August 2015 in Uganda;
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The main task was to analysing and researching inclusive, sustainable and pacific solutions to the humanitarian crisis in Rwanda and finding durable solutions to the Rwandan refugees problems.
Education
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INSTITUTE FOR INTERNATIONAL CRIMINAL INVESTIGATIONS
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Standard professional Interview and Advanced Investigative Interviewing;
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International Criminal Investigations
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Public and private security, military analyst and intelligence analyst;
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National security and international anti-terrorism
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Law, Social and Military Sciences, graduate.
