FBI INVESTIGATES MANIRUMVA MURDER

S E C R E T BUJUMBURA 000222 DEPT FOR AF/EX; DS/IP/AF; DS/IP/ITA; NAIROBI PASS TO LEGATT E.O. 12958: DECL: 05/05/2019 TAGS: ASEC PGOV BY SUBJECT: FBI INVESTIGATES MANIRUMVA MURDER REF: A. BUJUMBURA 188 ¶B. BUJUMBURA 198 Classified By: Ambassador Patricia Moller for reasons 1.4 (b) and (d). ¶1. (S) SUMMARY: In response to the Ambassador,s formal offer of FBI support, Burundi,s First Vice President, with the full concurrence of the President, invited the Bureau to assist in the investigation of the brutal April 8 murder of leading anti-corruption investigator Ernest Manirumva. While FBI Special Agent Mark Horton of the Nairobi Legal Attach,s Office initially encountered significant resistance from the Independent Commission in charge of investigating the case, the Ambassador,s subsequent April 29th call on the 1st Vice President opened doors, enabling Horton to examine the evidence, make an informed assessment and plan for future assistance. Nevertheless, indications that some individuals in the police and/or intelligence service may be involved could mean further obstruction during the course of the investigation. END SUMMARY. ¶2. (U) On April 20, Ambassador Moller offered FBI assistance to the Government of Burundi in investigating the murder of anti-corruption NGO OLUCOME's vice president and chief investigator, Ernest Manirumva (ref A); the GoB accepted the offer April 21. In an April 28 meeting with Special Agent Horton and the RSO, however, Stanislas Nimpagaritse, the president of the Independent Commission assigned to investigate the case, refused to show Horton the evidence accumulated to that point, stating that he had no orders to do so. Nimpagaritse insisted that he first needed permission from the Prosecutor General, who was out of the country. Further, Nimpagaritse advised Horton that the Commission needed only laboratory help from the FBI, and claimed that it wasn,t necessary for the Bureau to help with conducting interviews or collecting evidence. Nimpagaritse stressed, however, that the victim,s family was holding evidence they had collected from the crime scene which they refused to release to the Commission, and suggested that Horton could help by obtaining that evidence and immediately turning it over to the Commission. ¶3. (C) Because of this lack of cooperation, Ambassador Moller, Horton and the RSO met with 1st Vice-President Yves Sahinguvu on April 29 to clarify the FBI,s role. The 1st Vice-President assured the Ambassador that he would do everything he could to ensure that the FBI was given complete access to all evidence and received full cooperation from the Commission. He underscored the GoB,s commitment to conducting a thorough, transparent investigation, fully aided and supported by the FBI, to demonstrate that the process is genuine. He promised to convey instructions to the Ministers of Justice and Internal Security. ¶4. (C) On April 30 the Burundian Prosecutor General asked Horton for a meeting and apologized for the previous "misunderstanding." The PG assured Horton that the FBI would have unfettered access to evidence and witnesses and that the Commission was ready to be as helpful as possible. The Commission itself, noticeably more helpful than at the previous meeting, had set up an office where Horton was invited to examine all of the investigative reports including witness statements and phone records. Horton returned to Nairobi May 1 to prepare a preliminary report and plan for pursuing the investigation. ¶5. (S) COMMENT: The Manirumva murder has caused serious concern among the international and NGO communities, and inspired a strong sense in this conspiracy-prone nation that the government or some elements thereof are behind it. Manirumva was known to be investigating cases involving corruption at high levels among the police, intelligence services, Finance Ministry and others. Consequently, the news that the GoB had accepted the offer of FBI assistance was greeted with significant relief and hope that the real perpetrators and their masters - whoever they are - will be brought to justice. ¶6. (S) The 1st Vice President, who discussed the FBI assistance offer with President Nkurunziza, seems genuinely committed to pursuing the case wherever it leads. He clearly understood that an FBI report stating that the GoB was uncooperative in the investigation would feed the conspiracy theorists and convince the public that the government was indeed behind the assassination ) a particularly unattractive result as the ruling party campaigns for re-election in 2010. ¶7. (S) Nevertheless, despite the 1st VP,s commitment, other members of the investigative team appeared reluctant to vigorously pursue the investigation. For example, while much of the evidence shown to Horton appeared in order, there were several anomalies. Horton discovered that the victim,s cell phone records stopped at 19:00 the day of his murder, although it is believed that the murder occurred sometime after 23:00. When asked why the records did not cover the hours immediately surrounding the murder, police dismissed the records gap and stated without further explanation that the later records were somehow more difficult to obtain, and that the police were still waiting on the phone company to deliver them. One witness, however, claims that he saw a man in a police uniform at the victim,s home make a phone call to the victim,s phone well after 19:00. Similarly, the president of the Commission summarily dismissed a report from an eyewitness stating that he saw eight men, three wearing police uniforms, in the victim,s house the night of the murder. However, two informants currently external to the police investigation corroborate this story, and say that they believe the powerful intelligence service and police were involved. ¶8. (S) Whether the conspiracy theorists have gotten this right, whether, as others conjecture; President Nkurunziza is using the FBI,s arms-length investigation to rid himself of the now too-powerful head of internal security Adolphe Nshimirimana (who may well be implicated); or whether the President and 1st VP genuinely want to find the murderers; the FBI is distinct value added to this process. Whether a perpetrator(s) is identified, or even if the investigation is stymied, the fact that the U.S. is working to bring justice to a population weary of criminals who act with impunity sends a strong message of U.S. commitment to Burundi. And if the investigation is stymied ) a fact which Post would plan to publicize -- the population will receive a strong message about its leaders, commitment to genuine justice. END COMMENT. MOLLER