Editor of blocked website murdered in Rwanda

Earlier this month we blogged about the Rwandan government's announcement that it would begin blocking the website of independent newspaper Umuvugizi if the paper did not cease publication.

Today, the BBC reports that the acting editor of Umuvugizi was shot and killed in front of his house in Kigali. The paper's chief editor — currently in exile in Uganda — has accused the government of orchestrating the murder, but Rwandan authorities are denying all involvement in the incident.

Curiously, the government is also denying that it is behind the blocking of Umuvugizi's website, which is currently inaccessible within Rwanda. This seems unlikely, given that last month the country's Media Council Executive Secretary, Patrice Mulama, went on record threatening to censor the paper online.

Rwanda is currently scheduled to hold presidential elections in August.