South African police are investigating the killing of exiled Rwandan opposition activist, Seif Bamporiki, who was shot dead in Cape Town’s Nyanga Township.



Mr Bamporiki was reportedly shot dead while delivering a bed to a client in Nyanga on Sunday afternoon. He was accompanied by an unidentified male.

The suspects took their cell phones and wallets before they fled the scene in the deceased’s vehicle. No arrests have been made.

Western Cape police spokesperson Colonel Andrè Traut confirmed to Independent Media that they were investigating a case of murder.

“It is alleged that the deceased and another male, aged 50, were doing a delivery of a bed in the area when they were approached by two unknown suspects,” Mr Traut said.

“The deceased was pulled from his vehicle and shot, while the 50-year-old male who accompanied him managed to escape unharmed. The suspects, who are yet to be arrested, fled in the deceased’s vehicle.”
Bamporiki was the co-ordinator of the Rwanda National Congress.

According to the BBC, Rwanda National Congress spokesperson Etienne Mutabazi said a client made contact with Bamporiki wanting to purchase a bed from his shop.

The client then asked for the bed to be delivered in Nyanga, notorious for the highest number of murder cases in South Africa. Bamporiki and an associate then drove to the area where the bed was supposed to have been delivered, and that is where he met his death.

This is not the first time a Rwandan political activist has been killed in South Africa. Two years ago, Camir Nkurunziza, a former member of the Rwanda National Congress who had fled Rwanda after serving the presidential guard, was also shot dead in Cape Town. He had been hijacked before he was shot.

In 2013, one of the Rwanda National Congress’ founders, Patrick Karegeya, was killed in his hotel room in Johannesburg.

Opposition figure, Kayumba Nyamwasa, survived an alleged assassination attempt in 2010 in Johannesburg.