The extradition of a former member of the Rwandan Presidential Guard back to the country has stoked the embers of fierce animosity between Rwanda and human rights groups spanning several years.

Of late, scores of people have fled to Uganda seeking asylum, claiming that they were being forcibly recruited by the government to fight for the eastern Congo-based M23 rebels, which has put a blot on Rwanda’s human rights record.

And now, the whereabouts of Lt Joel Mutabazi, a former bodyguard of President Paul Kagame, who was controversially extradited from Uganda on October 25, remain a mystery.

Human Rights Watch (HRW) and Amnesty International have called on the government to ensure safety and accord a fair trial to Lt Mutabazi, whose extradition led to the arrest of a senior policeman in Uganda after the first attempt to send him back homewas foiled.

HRW and Amnesty claim he was forcibly returned by Ugandan police after going missing the same day and that the incident went unreported for six days.

However, the government says Lt Mutabazi is a fugitive who committed several crimes before and after his 2011 desertion from Rwanda Defence Forces (RDF).

Rwanda National Police (RNP) admitted that, indeed, Mutabazi was extradited to Rwanda by Uganda and was in their custody pending trial but insists that the extradition met all legal procedures pertaining to Interpol and co-operation between regional police forces.

The maximum five days that the law allows police to hold a suspect before taking them to court have however lapsed.
Dismissing claims that Lt Mutabazi was being held incommunicado, police spokesperson Damas Gatare told Rwanda Today they would not exchange statements with human rights watchdogs.

“The statement we put out is clear,” he said. “The suspect was transferred to Rwanda as part of standing bilateral co-operation.

“We have him in custody. They can come and see him if they want.

“There is nothing I can add to that. Let people say whatever they want.”

Wanted over terrorism

Police said the National Public Prosecution Authority would prepare and file charges against Lt Mutabazi but reliable sources indicated that the suspect’s file was yet to reach the prosecutor’s desk.

A police statement said Lt Mutabazi, who fled the country in 2011, was wanted over terrorism. He said to have “actively organised and co-ordinated” terror activities, including the recent grenade attacks that hit the city recently. He has been linked to dissident groups based in South Africa.

Rwanda has blamed the grenade attacks on the Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda (FDLR) and Rwanda National Congress, which is led by renegade military men Lt-Gen Kayumba Nyamwasa and Col Patrick Karegeya.

HRW and Amnesty say the manner in which Lt Mutabazi was rearrested and hastily sent to Rwanda despite being under protection leaves many questions unanswered.

“The Ugandan police have utterly failed to protect this refugee, who was clearly at serious risk,” said Daniel Bekele, Africa director at HRW. “It’s unconscionable that they handed him over summarily to the police force of the country whose persecution he fled.”

HRW said Rwandan and Ugandan authorities claimed Mutabazi was the subject of an international arrest warrant issued by Rwanda. But the Ugandan government statement admits that handing him to Rwanda without any court proceedings was contrary to its “established legal procedure” and the “Police Code of Conduct.”

Sent back to Uganda

Uganda should immediately put in place measures to protect Rwandan refugees and asylum seekers, particularly those at risk, it added.

The rights groups now want Lt Mutabazi sent back to Uganda and be subjected to a formal extradition procedure in a Ugandan court, including consideration of the human rights implications of the transfer and his refugee status. However, Rwanda said a process to arraign him in court was under way.

Amnesty said its officials attempted to reach Lt Mutabazi in his holding cell but Rwandan police denied them access. Sources said an official from the rights group met with top police officers but was informed that any contact with the suspect then would have jeopardised investigations.

“Amnesty International calls for the Rwandan authorities to reveal his [Lt Mutabazi] whereabouts and to ensure that he has access to a lawyer of his choice, to medical care, and is able to communicate with his family,” the London-based organisation said. “The police have declined to provide any information to Amnesty International — including where he is being detained, the legal basis for his detention and whether he has access to a lawyer.”

New York-based HRW also sought to know Lt Mutabazi’s whereabouts but ACP Gatare said investigations were ongoing and that “depending on the nature of the case, we might not disclose the location.”

Mr Bekele said: “We are worried about Mutabazi’s well-being in Rwanda. The Rwandan authorities should guarantee his safety, publicly disclose his whereabouts, allow him access to a lawyer and visits by relatives and, if he is to be charged, promptly bring him before a court.”

The groups said Lt Mutabazi is at particular risk from the authorities because of his past role in the Rwandan security forces. He was allegedly detained without trial by intelligence organs for several months in 2010 and 2011 at Camp Kami, where he was subjected to torture, they added.

Lt Mutabazi, who was reportedly snatched from a United Nations High Commission for Refugees safehouse, was granted refugee status by Uganda in 2011. According to HRW, that signifies the threat he faced.

Lt Mutabazi was initially accused of having robbed Bank of Kigali, Kisementi Branch, of more than Rwf10 million at gunpoint with several other accomplices in 2010. But in a recent statement, police seemed to have substituted the robbery with violence charge with terrorism.

In July last year, he allegedly survived an assassination at his home in Kasangati, a Kampala suburb. It was after the incident that UNHCR put him under protection. However, it is said he stage-managed the attack to speed up his visa and protection.

Efforts to reach Prosecution to ask when Lt Mutabazi would be in the dock were futile but a reliable source said he was likely to face the Court Martial as he is still a soldier.