Front Line strongly condemns the murder of human rights defender, Mr Ernest Manirumva, in Bujumbura, on the night of 8-9 April 2009. Ernest Manirumva was the vice-president of Observatoire de lutte contre la corruption et les malversations économiques, OLUCOME (the Observatory for the Fight Against Corruption and Economic Embezzlement), a watchdog non-governmental organisation.

Further Information

On the night of 8-9 April, intruders reportedly broke into the home of Ernest Manirumva in Bujumbura. They ransacked the house and stole several documents related to the activities of OLUCOME. Members of OLUCOME, who discovered the body of Ernest Manirumva, believe that he was forced to lead the intruders to these documents since they found blood stains all over the house. Ernest Manirumva was stabbed several times by the intruders and he received severe head trauma. The same night, his office was also broken into but while nothing of value was taken, his lap-top was still connected.

Ernest Manirumva was the victim of telephone and written threats on several occasions in the past, including threats put on the Internet.

Front Line believes that the murder of Ernest Manirumva is directly related to his legitimate work in the defence of human rights.