Head of Rwandan diaspora shot dead in Mozambique

ANKARA (AA) – The head of the Rwandan diaspora community in Mozambique on Monday was shot dead near Mozambique’s capital Maputo by a group of unknown gunmen, according to media reports.

Louis Baziga, also a businessman and reportedly had been close to the Rwandan government, was in his car when he was ambushed by three gunmen in two vehicles in Matola Suburb, 16.6 kilometers (10.3 miles) away from Maputo, local media reported.

The Rwandan ambassador to Mozambique Claude Nikobisanzwe confirmed the murder of Baziga, according to the New Times Rwandan news website.

"It is true Louis Baziga was gunned down by about three people as he drove from his home to a garage to have his car fixed. No one knows who these people are but investigations by police here is underway," he was quoted by the New Times, another local news agency.

In 2016, Baziga told the media that a group of his nationals had attempted to kill him.

"My countrymen have raised a conspiracy against me. A police officer told me that my countrymen had paid him to kill me," Baziga said in 2016, according to Club of Mozambique news website.

In 2012, the head of the Rwanda Development Bank, Théogène Turatsinze, was found dead in a river near Maputo, days after he went missing, according to the New Times.