ASIEL kABERAAsiel Kabera was an adviser to President Bizimungu and after Bizimungu’s resignation he remained as an adviser to the then new President Paul Kagame but also tried to stay loyal to his former boss Pasteur Bizimungu. However, during those days Paul Kagame had lost confidence in him because of his close relationship also with the former Speaker of Parliament Sebarenzi Kabuye who had left the country in exile. Asiel Kabera was easy to reach in any circumstance, I remember before mobile telephones became popular in Rwanda I used to attend his offices in order to communicate with my family. In those days, we used to work 24/7 due to the responsibility and paranoia of believing that someone is out there to kill Kagame, as if anyone was interested in that. I remember Asiel Kabera sending his secretary to call me when one of my family members had called to check on me. Asiel was a real man with humanistic behaviour and he was well educated. In addition to that, he was among the few Rwandese men who had managed to keep his culture alongside civilisation, but he was another comrade we lost in minutes and was killed by Kagame’s thugs.

kABERA KAGAME

After Asiel Kabera’s death, a lot was said either by his friends, family and even colleagues. Some people even explained his death but in different versions with some conflicting information for their best interest.  It was disappointing because just after his assassination the Rwandan national radio announced that every citizen who was in possession of a weapon should report it to the nearest Gendarmerie post now known as Police station. That is all the government had to do, in regards to the loss of a great man who was a presidential advisor.

The only honest ex-service man who spoke out about the death of Asiel Kabera was Lt Ruyenzi who claimed that a slain politician was shot by a combined force of the Republican Guard and Special Intelligence Services of the police force led by Col. Gacinya Rugumya, in 2000. However he remained reserved in explaining about what really happened on the day of the innocent man’s death, today I Noble Marara will put down a little of what I was able to understand on what happened on the day when the Innocent advisor to the high profile politician Paul Kagame died.

 

On the day of his death I had driven the wife of President Kagame to visit her mother, and while I was sat in the car waiting for the first lady Janet Kagame who was still in her mother’s house to come out, I heard the bullets. Asiel’s house was near the Village Urugwiro, which was where he was shot.  The sound came from the area of the presidential palace and the president was in residence at Village Urugwiro. I called on the radio to alert my colleagues and to find out where the sound of bullets origionated, also to discern the reason why it was near the presidents residence.  One of our intelligence staff S/SGT Melchior Hakizimana, AKA Ndadaye, intervened in the conversation and informed me that the situation was under control and reassured me that we should continue with the journey to bring the First Lady home as the road was safe. On my arrival I went straight to Melchior and asked him what was going on, he said that Asiel Kabera had been sorted, as in the military terms, due to being one of the enemies. Those days it was normal for us to discuss about things. Before I became an enemy as some people call me these days, and so he went on to tell me that it was Lt Joseph Balinda, who is now a Major with Lt Mupenzi Aloys who later became a Captian and later demobilized, that executed Mr Asiel Kabera. S/SGT Melchior Hakizimana confirmed that he was alongside these men when the mission was undertaken and the instructions were from the top man meaning Paul Kagame through Capt Silas Udahemuka who is a Col now. He presented as confident and behaved like someone who was giving me some good news or sounding like it was saving the whole nation. Yet, I was not convinced but continued nodding to avoid signs of disbelief. However, I immediately recalled that Asiel Kabera was from Kibuye and most Guys from there were being mistreated or killed due to Sebarenzi Kabuye, the man who was a speaker of parliament, who was energetic, empathetic and talented but could not work with the Kagame’s. I was disappointed by the actions of our forces but also our leaders who, for the first time, I realised they could kill anyone.

 

I felt compelled to bring what little information I had in order to provide understanding about the day this innocent man was executed by the people who were supposed and had promised to protect him.

 

My heart remains with his family that I have had to remind of those hard times they went through.

 

Noble Marara

Edited by Jennipher Fierlberg