Open Letter to the President of Botswana H.E Duma Gideon Boko (
@duma_boko )
Your Excellency,
I would first like to warmly welcome the decision taken by the Republic of Botswana to remove visa requirements for Rwandan citizens traveling to Botswana. Free movement between African countries is an important and positive step toward African unity, regional cooperation, economic integration, and stronger relations between our peoples.
At the same time, I would like to respectfully express a serious concern shared by many Rwandans, particularly refugees, activists, journalists, and opposition members living in exile across Africa and beyond.
While President
@PaulKagame was visiting Botswana, news emerged of the death of a well-known Rwandan YouTuber, author, and university lecturer, Aimable Karasira Uzaramba, on May 6, 2026, shortly before his expected release from detention in Rwanda after five years of imprisonment.
Aimable Karasira was a genocide survivor and a public figure known for speaking openly about Rwanda’s history, reconciliation, freedom of expression, and the suffering experienced by many Rwandan families during and after the 1994 tragedy.
According to his own testimony, some members of his family, including his parents, were killed by soldiers under the command of General Paul Kagame in 1994. His decision to speak publicly about those experiences ultimately made him one of the most controversial and targeted voices in Rwanda.
Many people believe that his arrest, imprisonment, and eventual death were directly linked to his willingness to openly discuss those events. For many Rwandans, speaking about crimes allegedly committed by members of the ruling RPF under President Paul Kagame is perceived as placing one’s own life in danger.
For many Rwandans, President Paul Kagame’s visit to Botswana will unfortunately remain associated with the painful memory of the death of Aimable Karasira a tragedy that deeply shocked many people around the world who believe in freedom of expression, justice, truth, and human dignity.
Over the years, numerous opposition figures, journalists, artists, activists, former officials, and critics of the Rwandan government have reportedly faced imprisonment, enforced disappearances, intimidation, suspicious deaths, or violence both inside Rwanda and beyond its borders.
For this reason, while the visa-free policy is a positive and welcome initiative, I respectfully urge the authorities of Botswana to remain vigilant and ensure that this openness is never exploited by individuals who may seek to target, intimidate, monitor, or harm Rwandan refugees and dissidents living abroad, particularly in Southern Africa.
Many Rwandans living outside their country are not simply migrants seeking economic opportunities. Many are people who fled political persecution, fear, insecurity, threats, or restrictions on freedom of expression and political freedom.
Botswana has long been respected across Africa and the world for its democratic values, rule of law, political stability, and commitment to human dignity. It is my sincere hope that Botswana will continue to uphold these principles while strengthening its relations with the people of Rwanda.
The Rwandan people deserve peace, justice, freedom, and the right to live without fear both inside and outside their country.
Respectfully,
Rugaba Patrick
Rwandan refugee and human rights activist
@BWPresidency @BWGovernment @OfficialBrandBW @PaulKagame @UrugwiroVillage @RwandaGov @onduhungirehe @_AfricanUnion