The unfortunate incident took Tuesday evening in Nyamitovu village, Kabuga cell, when the deceased disobeyed police order of stopping at a checkpoint, and instead started a fight with the officers, during which skirmish the two, Jean Claude Nyiramana, 27 and Emmanuel Nyandwi, 25, were shot dead.

It has been reported that as local authorities and security personnel monitored compliance with the implementation of state guidelines for the prevention of COVID-19, the deceased duo ignored the checkpoint and instead parked at a nearby shop where one officer followed and asked them to present relevant documents that the rider, Nyiramana, failed to produce, started a fight, and tried to grab the officer’s gun.

As the scuffle ensued with the police officer pinned down on the ground, the second officer arrived, fired in the air to scare Nyiramana to let free the officer but he [Nyiramana] did not let go. It was at this point that Nyiramana was shot dead.

Realizing the last gasps of his dying friend, Nyandwi tried to grab the police officer with the intent of wrestling and disarming him. He was also shot dead.

In a statement issued via Twitter on Wednesday, Rwanda National Police says preliminary investigations indicate that the deceased were trying to fight police officers on duty.

“Preliminary investigations show that the dead first confronted a Police Officer who was on regular security duty. His colleague shot errant men in self-defense. An in-depth investigation is ongoing.”

The bodies of the deceased were taken to Nyanza District Hospital for autopsy.