[3] Relations were further strained in 2014 when the former Rwandan general Kayumba Nyamwasa was assassinated at a location near Johannesburg, South Africa.

[3][4] Prior to the assassinations Rwandan president Paul Kagame had accused South Africa of hosting "terrorists" that sought to oust him from power.

[4][5] In a July 2021 report by Amnesty International it was alleged that the Rwandan government had engaged in espionage activity against South Africa president Cyril Ramaphosa by illegally installing Pegasus spyware on his mobile phone.

[6] In the same month Rwanda proposed coordinating operations with South Africa in efforts to combat the Islamist insurgency in Cabo Delgado.

[7] During the 2025 Goma offensive 13 South African peacekeepers lost their lives in clashes with the Rwandan backed M23.