Since the beginning of this week, news has shocked Africa about the deaths of two democracy and human rights advocates, Rwandan journalist John Williams Ntwali and Liswati human rights lawyer Thulani Maseko.

According to a report issued by the Committee to Protect Journalists, most of the journalists killed during 2022 in retaliation for their work were local journalists who covered sensitive topics such as politics, crime, and corruption in their countries.

Suspicious motorbike accident

According to local news, Ntwali's death occurred on the evening of January 19, when the police asked the journalist's brother to identify his body in the morgue of Caseiro Hospital and informed him that Ntwali had died in a traffic accident on the night of January 17 to 18.

The Times website reported that Ntwali, 44, died in a motorbike accident in the Kimihurura neighborhood of the Rwandan capital, Kigali, on January 18 at 2:50 am, but so far, it has not provided details of the accident such as a police report, his exact location, or information on others involved. Human Rights Watch reported it had no knowledge of an alleged incident until the evening of January 19.

Many journalists and human rights activists inside and outside Rwanda believe that suspicions hover over the death of the journalist. Ntwali was regularly threatened for his work as a journalist exposing human rights abuses in Rwanda, and he expressed concern for his safety to many, including Human Rights Watch.

Numerous reports state that Ntwali had gone to the Criminal Investigation Department of the Rwandan Police on Monday, January 16, in Kigali. On Wednesday, January 18, the police informed his newspaper and family of his death in a motorcycle accident.

“John Williams Ntwali was often the only journalist who dared report on issues of political persecution and repression. There are many reasons to question the theory of a road accident, and a prompt, effective investigation, drawing on international expertise, is essential to determine whether he was murdered,” said Lewis Mudge, Central Africa director at Human Rights Watch.

Cold-blooded gunshot

On January 21, in Eswatini, unidentified gunmen killed Thulani Maseko, a prominent opposition politician and human rights lawyer, in his home by shooting him through the window inside the house in Luhleko, 50 kilometers from the capital, Mbabane. His brutal assassination is the latest in a series of horrific attacks on pro-democracy activists in Africa's last absolute monarchy.

Besides being a prominent human rights lawyer, Maseko was a writer for the Eswatini newspaper, where he was highly critical of King Mswati III's decision to unconstitutionally rename the country from Swaziland to Eswatini in 2018. In 2014, Maseko was jailed in contempt of court for articles critical of the government and the judiciary. He was acquitted on appeal and released from a year in detention for allegedly criticizing the judicial system.

His death came just hours after King Mswati defied activists fighting to end Africa's last absolute monarchy. The king said that people should not be sad if mercenaries killed them.

The Swaziland Solidarity Network (SSN) said last week that the king had hired mercenaries, mostly white Afrikaners from neighboring South Africa, to help Eswatini's security forces suppress growing opposition to his regime.

UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk condemned the brutal killing of Maseko, calling on the authorities to ensure that a prompt, independent, impartial and effective investigation is held into his killing and to hold all those responsible to account in fair trials.

“The Eswatini authorities must also ensure the safety and security of all Eswatini people, including human rights defenders, journalists and political activists, and to protect civic space,” said Türk in a statement on January 23.