Kagame briefing Gen Kabarebe with Mushikiwabo previously

Rwanda President Paul Kagame has revealed the family of murdered dissident Patrick Karegeya did not request government to have the deceased laid to rest in his country.

Gen Kayumba with Col Karegeya

“He (Karegeya) should have been buried in Rwanda. No one asked for the body to be buried in Rwanda,” said Kagame.

“I heard that he was to be buried in a neighbouring country. Therefore, I cannot be held on responsible on how he got buried.”

The President was speaking in an interview with Linus Kaikai on NTV Kenya in Nairobi on Wednesday night.

Kagame was in Kenya to attend the Nation Media Governor’s Summit this week. He also met President Uhuru Kenyatta at State House, Nairobi.

This is the first time Kagame is speaking out on the drama that surrounded the burial arrangements of the slain Rwandan spymaster.

 

 

A few days after Karegeya’s body was found at a luxurious Johannesburg hotel, family members asked the Uganda government to allow his body laid in Biharwe, Mbarara.

Uganda refused, saying Karegeya was a citizen of Rwanda and that at the time of his death, he was a resident of South Africa. He would later be buried at Fourways Cemetery in Johannesburg last week.

Col Karegeya laid to rest in South Africa with a flag of his beloved Rwanda National Congress as seen above

 

During the interview, Kagame lashed at his critics who accuse him of having masterminded Karegeya’s death, saying “they’ve never liked me anyway. With time, people with positive opinion for me will be vindicated.”

 

What I said at a prayer needs to be taken into context,” said the Rwandan leader, referring to the recent Leaders’ Prayer Breakfast in Kigali where he said betraying one’s country comes with costly consequences.

 

At the time, the international media reports implied Kagame was confessing to having taken Karegeya’s life.

 

“Am I not supposed to say it as long as it has meaning? By running away, they say someone is against government. When the person dies, then they say government is to blame. I don’t mind someone pointing a finger. I wish some had a minimum of evidence for pointing fingers.”

 

Subversion

 

Kagame further revealed that he was in possession of concrete evidence incriminating Karegeya in subversive activities and belonging to organisations “that kill Rwandans.”

 

The President reiterated government’s position, saying there were no regrets over Karegeya’s death.

 

He wondered: “Who is not going to die? So many people in government die. People die for different causes.”

 

He, however, clarified that “the things that could happen to him (Karegeya) have nothing to do with government,” adding, “I don’t know who killed him and don’t need to be asked. It is not my business.”

 

In his remarks, Kagame implied that Karegeya’s background as a chief spy had created so many enemies who wanted him dead.

 

“When we understand who he was, you a get a range of things that could happen to him.”

 

Apparently referring to Edward Snowden who leaked the U.S government secrets, Kagame said he heard of “someone who ran away with some secrets of a powerful country, and people say they wil get him.”

 

International human rights organisations have since appealed to the South African government to expedite investigations into Karegeya’s death.

Kayumba

 

Kagame also took off time to lash at renegade Army chief of staff, Gen Kayumba Nyamwasa, saying he has no moral authority to criticise the institutions he served for decades.

 

“The critics don’t know his history as I do. He was in the army. He was an Army Chief of Staff. How does he become a critic? The same critics used to accuse him at the time he was in government. So since when did he become a critic?”

 

Kayumba was accused of committing atrocities in the DRC where he led military operations against the FDLR.

 

Kagame said it was ironical that the same critics are now on his side after he “ran into trouble of his own.”

 

On jailed opposition figure, Victorie Ingabire, Kagame denied reports the treason trial was politically-motivated, arguing the case started much earlier before she declared her intentions to stand for President.

 

He lashed at the media for turning Ingabire into a huge political figure yet “If you did a survey in Rwanda, only a handful will identify with her or her cause.”

 

Kagame said he has never met Ingabire and would therefore have no grudge against her.

 

The President said while the media considers Ingabire as an outstanding political figure, her collaborators revealed she worked with genocidaires.

 

He observed that Rwanda corroborated its information with European countries where Ingabire lived.

 

On retiring from politics after 2017, Kagame called for patience, adding, “what will happen will happen.”

 

Asked whether he would not see the Constitution amended to secure another term in office like some other African leaders, Kagame said the Constitution “does not fall from heaven. It is made by people.”

He said his departure from power should not preoccupy people as it would be a decision by those who put the Constitution in place.