Colonel Alexis Kanyarengwe (1938[2]–2006) was a Rwandan officer who fled Rwanda in 1980 amidst accusations that he was plotting against Juvénal Habyarimana.

Kanyarengwe rose to power as one of the officers who led a coup on July 5, 1973, that toppled then President Grégoire Kayibanda, installing Habyarimana.

[2] In September 1990, after three years of convincing, Kanyarengwe joined the Rwandan Patriotic Front (RPF), following a meeting with Aloisea Inyumba.

In October 1990, RPF founder Fred Rwigyema was killed in mysterious circumstances, possibly by his deputy Pierre Bayingana.

[2][4] On 28 March 1997, Kanyarengwe was sacked from his post as Interior minister after protesting Rwandan Patriotic Army massacres in his home prefecture of Ruhengeri.