Rwandan opposition names Col Patrick Karegeya’s assailant
By Henry D Gombya and Norman W Miwambo
Dr Theogene Rudasingwa, the Rwandan dissident who believes President Kagame is a danger to the Great Lakes Region.
In a dramatic move shortly before this online newspaper went to bed, the Rwandan opposition has named the person they believe is responsible for the assassination of Col Patrick Karegeya. In an exclusive interview with The London Evening Post, a leading member of the Rwanda opposition said the person who arranged to meet with Col Karegeya was one Apollo Kiririsi Gafaranga. The colonel was found dead shortly after arriving to meet with Apollo andSouth African police confirmed the colonel had been strangled with a rope.
Dr Theogene Rudasingwa, a former Rwanda Patriotic Front Secretary General, Ambassador of Rwanda to the United States, and Chief of Staff to President Paul Kagame, but now a founding member of the opposition Rwanda National Council (RNC), said Col Karegeya knew his assailant who had often visited him in Johannesburg. “Within hours of his death, Apollo was back in Kigali,” Rudasingwa said. He added that he also believes that as long as President Kagame remains in power, he will be a serious danger to countries in the Africa Great Lakes Region. “Kagame remains very dangerous to Burundi, Tanzania, South Africa, Kenya and Uganda,” he said. He said President Kagame has been involved in more crimes than any other Rwandan leader before him. “The callousness of the killers of Patrick was that they left a ‘Do not disturb’ sign on the hotel room,” he said.
“Kagame’s intentions is to decapitate this (the RNC) organization and he believes that by taking out Patrick the organisation will flounder and eventually collapse, but he is very much mistaken,” Dr Rudasingwa said. Admitting they were still in a shock, Rudasingwa, a medical doctor who spoke to us from his home in the United States said: “It is now up to us to tell the Rwandan people and members of our organisation that it is our duty to carry on the duties of Patrick and others like him to their right conclusions.
Rwandan President Paul Kagame allegedly ordered killing of Col Karegeya
He accused President Kagame of having a policy of eliminating anyone opposed him. His words echoed with those that the late Col Karegeya said in an interview with Radio France International (RFI) that we shall publish at the end of this article. In the interview, Col Karegeya revealed he was willing to go theInternational Criminal Court in The Hague to give evidence against President Kagame’s involvement in the 1994 Rwanda genocide which was started by the downing of a private jet carrying both then President Juvenal Habyarimana of Rwanda and President Cyprien Ntaryamira of Burundi. They all died when on April 6, 1994, a Falcon 50 Jet of the President of the Republic of Rwanda, registration number “9XR-NN” was downed and all aboard died including the Rwanda and Burundi entourage accompanying the presidents from signing an agreement in Arusha Tanzania with Kagame’s Rwanda Patriotic. The dead included the crew and French pilots.
Asked whether he believed it was true that Col Karegeya’s death may have resulted from what he said in the RFI interview, Dr Rudasingwa agreed. In a confession he made on 22 April 2012, Dr Rudasingwa wrote thus: “The truth must now be told. Paul Kagame, then overall commander of the Rwandese Patriotic Army, the armed wing of the Rwandese Patriotic Front, was personally responsible for the shooting down of the plane. In July, 1994, Paul Kagame himself, with characteristic callousness and much glee, told me that he was responsible for shooting down the plane. Despite public denials, the fact of Kagame’s culpability in this crime is also a public “secret” within RPF and RDF circles. Like many others in the RPF leadership, I enthusiastically sold this deceptive story line, especially to foreigners who by and large came to believe it, even when I knew that Kagame was the culprit in this crime.”
Asked to comment on the way President Kagame is serenaded by the West, Dr Rudasingwa said Western leaders are capable of supporting any African dictator so long as he or she serves their interests. He reiterated that the West is aware of what Kagame had been involved in but as long as he continues to serve their interests, they will not say a word about his misdemeanours. He said this was made obvious when noises had been made about Kagame’s violation of human rights. “When Kagame threatened to withdraw his troops from areas of conflict where the West was reluctant to send its own soldiers, they quickly relented and ignored facts about his deeds.”
In the interview by RFI Special Correspondent in South Africa, Sonia Rolley, Col. Karegeya talked about a couple of thorny issues that included the facts regarding the downing of President Habyalimana’s plane and about human rights abuses and the situation in Congo as among the issues that led him to fall-out with Kagame. He also confessed about the composition of the M23 movement that had been fighting the regime of President Joseph Kabila in the Democratic Republic of Congo and his willingness to cooperate with the ICC to pin President Kagame. Col Karegeya’s interview with the RFI is hereby reproduced:
Col Patrick Karegeya who was found strangled in a Johannesburg Hotel on New year’s Day
Question: Since when do you know President Kagame?
Answer: For a long time. We were at school together. He was two classes above me. So it’s been over thirty years.
Q: And you worked together in the Ugandan army?
A: Yes, we worked in the same department, the military intelligence.
Q: When did you decide to take up arms?
A: I think it all started in 1987. Fred Rwigyema was still alive and there were other officers older than us. They organized meetings, decided who among the officers had to attend. So yes, we participated in meetings, and then we returned to the field to see what was happening. And we made our report.
Q: When did President Kagame take control of operations? And why him?
A: Why him? Because all those above him were dead. So it was the rightful order. When it all began, he was not there. But when he came back, Fred was dead and the others too, so it was he who took command because he was top of the list. We all thought it was desirable that he takes the lead in and that’s what he did.
Q: So there was no objection at the time?
A: No, no. It would be difficult for the military to challenge such a decision; it is not like in politics. And do not forget that we were at war; there was no place for politics or democratic considerations. And it’s not as if he became head of the whole movement. There was the RPF (Rwanda Patriotic Front) and the Rwandan Patriotic Army. He took control of the RPA and the rest later. But it happened gradually over the years during the rebellion. Then we took power. And it was not until 1998 that he then headed the RPF. He managed to get rid of everyone and even his boss at the time, Pastor Bizimungu, who was president. And we must all plead guilty because it happened before our eyes. But as we were at war, nobody had the courage to say anything or to convene a meeting for that. So almost all civilians were ejected from the movement. It became a military institution that has retained the name Rwanda Patriotic Front. But we still feel he was in charge of everything, even at the time when Pasteur Bizimungu was president.
Q: Wasn’t all that mere decorum?
A: No, not exactly. He was at the head of the army and everything depended on the army. Obviously, all those who came with a political problem, they were first accused of jeopardizing the war effort and not being sufficiently patriotic. And very few people finally had the courage to say; “there is military action and there is politics.” So he (Kagame) really took control of everything and nobody dared to say anything or even dared to contradict what he said. He became the strong man as they say.
Q: Why didn’t you challenge these decisions? Didn’t you consider him to be the most suitable person for the job?
A: Best or not, he was already in place. So we were content with trying to fix things, and convince him not to do some terrible things he had in mind. That’s why we became part of the collateral damage. We tried to tell him that it was not good; it was not the right way to do things. But because he had all the powers, he began to see all criticism or even just suggestions as a personal affront. It became clear that at some point there was no difference between him and the State. As you say in France: “The state is me.” And now that he has all the powers; he behaves as an absolute monarch and no one can challenge his decisions.
Q: Now you accuse Kagame of being behind the attack against the plane of Juvenal Habyarimana. Do you have any evidence of his involvement?
A: If we did not, we would not say that. Of course, we do. We do not speculate. We are not like those who try to investigate, who say that the missile came from Kanombe (note: FAR military camp, the Rwandan army at the time). We know where the missiles were fired from, who directed the shooting. We do not speculate. We are talking about something that we know.
Q: But why don’t you go public? Why keep it to yourself?
A: We do not keep it to ourselves. There has been no investigation worthy of the name. We do not want to deliver it all to the media. Remember that all this will affect people. People who lost their lives, they had a family, friends. If I tell you, of course, you will publish and it will not help the victims. So we always said it was to be part of a criminal investigation. In that context we can say what we know.
Q: Were you ever contacted by Judge Trévidic (French judge investigating the shooting of the Habyalimana’s plane)?
A: No, the judges never came to us. If they do, we say what we know. But you cannot force their hand. If they want to hear us, they will come. And do not forget that these are French, and the victims are Rwandan. So we also think it would be better if Rwandans also did this work … But of course, Rwandans can only do that after the departure of Kagame. We do not expect there to be a Rwandan judicial inquiry at the moment. The French have taken the liberty to do so, but none of them came to see us.
Q: Are you involved in this attack?
A: No, but that does not mean I do not know what happened.
Q: And you were not in a position that allowed you to prevent the attack?
A: Prevent it? No, I could not be opposed to it. He had decided. And I could never say “don’t do it”. He was sure of his decision. But know that, yes, we know.
Q: But why take this plane down?
A: He believes that all opponents must die … And at that time, because it was Habyarimana that was a way to take power. Habyarimana had signed a power-sharing agreement. Even though he was trying to buy time, it was not a reason to kill him. We must follow the process and make sure it goes through. Many people said Habyarimana was trying to buy time; I’m not trying to defend it. But even if he erred, he did not deserve to die.
Q: You were head of foreign intelligence for ten years and, in 2004, you were relieved of your duties. Can you explain why?
A: This is the result of a series of disagreements with President Kagame on his leading of the country in terms of governance, human rights, also about the situation in Congo … These disagreements lasted quite a long time. At one point, I realized that it was not going anywhere. I asked him to let me return to private life, he refused. Three years later, he ended up throwing me in jail. Not once, but twice. So it came to political disagreements, nothing personal.
Q: Nothing personal? But you were friends…?
A: Of course we were friends, but I was in government. I was not there to praise. As intelligence chief, I think the best I could do was to tell him the truth, even if it was bitter. But the fact that he cannot accept it and holds it against me, what is happening today vindicates me.
Q: What abominable truths you tell him for example?
A: The usual, I told him that what we were doing was not good in terms of justice, democracy, and freedom of the press. There was the second Congo war. We talked about it all and we never agreed. But because this didn’t take place in public, no one realized that there was a kind of cold war between him and me.
Q: So for years there has been dissent within the RPF?
A: Yes, but that was happening within the military. Civilians knew nothing about it. And it was not just me. Others also were unhappy. Some have paid the price. Others decided to remain silent forever. It is a matter of choice. If you speak publicly, they hung you. Some are dead, others were imprisoned, and others like me have found us in exile. And it will continue as long as Kagame maintains this line of doing things.
Q: You said that you opposed to the second Congo war. So were you favourable to the first one?
A: Yes, definitely. There were perfectly legitimate reasons. Because of what is happening on the other side of the border, in camps, reorganization (note: ex- FAR- Interahamwe). Either we solved the problem, or they would take care of us. That one was legitimate. And Mobutu supported them. As regards the second war, it would have been enough for us to have dialogue. We didn’t necessarily have to fight each other. And as you see, we did not get any results. We’re still at the same point. RCD, CNDP, M23. There will probably also be an M27 … It does not help the Congo. It does not help Rwanda. It brings only suffering in the region.
Bosco Ntaganda who is currently awaiting trial in The Hague for crimes committed in the DRC.
Q: Bosco Ntaganda, who was a leader of the CNDP, is before the International Criminal Court. Will you testify in court?
A: I do not know why I should. But if the court considers that it can learn something from me, I will cooperate with it. But I think that the ICC does not have the right person. It should prosecute Kagame and not Ntaganda.
Q: Why?
A: Because it was he who chose Ntaganda in Rwanda and sent him to eastern Congo. So why deal with the symptoms and not the disease?
Q: So you say that Bosco Ntaganda is Rwandan and not Congolese?
A: Yes, of course he is Rwandan. He was in the Rwandan army. We chose him from amongst us, sent him to Lubanga and stocked him with arms. So when it causes all these problems, the culprit shouldn’t be Ntaganda, but Kagame. Ntaganda has just been deployed. So these events are the responsibility of the commander.
(L-R) Gen Faustin Kayumba Nyamwasa and President Kagame during the good old days.
Q: What military unit was Ntaganda from and where was it based?
A: It is not as if we had several. He was from the Rwandan Defense Forces. He was a sergeant. Most of those who led the rebellion came from Rwanda anyway. Ntaganda is not a special case. Nkunda, Ntaganda, they were trained in Rwanda, but didn’t fight in Rwanda. That is why I say they (the ICC) do not have the right people. These (rebels) were made, that’s all.
Q: Bosco Ntaganda fled Rwanda and sought refuge at the embassy of the United States. Was it with the help of the Rwandan government?
A: No, he wanted to save himself. If he went to the Rwandan government, it would have been a different story. I do not think they would have surrendered him to the International Criminal Court.
Q: Why did you flee the country in 2007?
A: I had already tested the prison twice. And I was held in solitary confinement. Twice in two years. When I came out, I was taken to the Ministry of Defence where I was assaulted by officers, some of whom are in prison today, others have problems. Anyway, the important fact is that they told me that Kagame would take care of me forever. Some of them were worried about it. They told me that if I wanted to live, I had to leave. I had no reason to doubt them. So I left. And in fact, it was true. It is exactly what he has tried to do here. This is why he shot my colleague (General Faustin Kayumba Nyamwasa). I was lucky to get away without a scratch.
The full interview with Dr Theogene Rudasingwa in which he discusses the future of Rwanda, or whether President Kagame will really step down as the country’s constitution requires in 2017 (it doesn’t allow anyone to stand for more than two terms) will appear on our website as soon.
Source: london evening gazette
Intambara yo kurucunshu yatangiye
An open letter to President Paul Kagame of Rwanda.
Kagame stop killing your colleagues. Though there is no proof of your direct involvement in these assassinations circumstantial evidence points and leads to your intelligence services
Someone should tell President Paul Kagame of Rwanda to stop killing his colleagues. There is a better and civilised way of dealing with political opposition than assassinating its members. You should know that one day you will relinquish power and this may come in so many forms such as; getting a permanent life threatening ailment that might incapacitate you from running the office of the president of your country, through election defeat (though at the moment it seems so remote), overthrown by your strong military (this is not so remote) or you may choose to retire. You started as a revolutionary, though sincerely speaking you have failed to revolutionaries the army, the intelligence services and other security agencies. The army and all security services should be transformed into people’s institutions representative of the demography of your country. You journey in denial that the Tusti-Hutu tensions do not exist anymore. Burundi has acknowledged this fact and moved on to transform its institutions that were previously Tusti-dominated into people’s institutions that clearly address the demography of that country. Today there is healing, reconciliation and open positive debate about Burundi’s past by the citizens of that country. There is a vibrant democracy developing in Burundi than in Rwanda. You take credit for revolutionising the economy including the IT industry. The relentless effort you have taken to do that should be the same effort to render into the institution of democracy. You have muzzled the press. You have jailed political opposition by concocting flimsy charges against them. You have tried them through kangaroo courts. You have denied them justice; you have bogged down the judiciary. You have extended the grip or grasp of your iron fist to control each and every aspect of the life of citizens of your country. In short you have turned Rwanda into a big and giant prison. The assassination of your political opponents living in exile thousands of kilometres away from Rwanda is clearly a manifestation of cowardice not expected from a gallant soldier like you. The kidnapping of exiles from Uganda. The two failed assassination attempts on Lt. Gen. Faustin Kayumba Nyamwasa’s life. Now the assassination of Colonel Patrick Karegyeya. The forced exile of his wife and children. The expulsion of some of Rwanda’s diplomats in Europe because of the allegations that they are involved in attempts to kill or spy on members of your political opposition do not augur well for you. It would be of honour for you to retire one day and enjoy the status of a statesman just like Julius Nyerere of Tanzania did. But according to what is happening this may not be the case should the time of your leaving power come. We do not wish a politician of your stature leaving power and dying the way President Kwame Nkrumah of Ghana left power and died. We do not want you to leave power the way President Modibo Keita (The first president of Mali) left power and eventually died. We would not be happy if you go through the same trials and tribulations of Charles Taylor of Liberia and president Gbagbo of Ivory Coast. Africa will not be proud for you to meet a similar fate that befell our beloved presidents Thomas Sankara of Burkina Faso and Ndadaye of Burundi. Africa does not want you to end the way Colonel Muammar Gadhafi of Libya ended. Neither does Africa need to see you end the way president Juvenal Habyarimana of Rwanda, Cyprian Ntaryamira of Burundi and President Samora Machel of Mozambique ended. It would be doing a disservice to Africa if you end the way president Muhammad Anwar Sadat of Egypt ended. The African continent does not want to see you sent into ‘retirement’ the way president Samuel Doe of Liberia was sent into retirement. You are a cockroach and poisonous snake. Why should you eliminate your comrade in arms this way? It is these people that brought you into power. It is these people that you have now targeted. What an irony! You are doing exactly what president Jaffar Numeiri of the Sudan did. Jaffar Numeiri assassinated the entire political bureau of the central committee of the communist party of the Sudan. Prominent amongst the people he killed were Abdul Khaliq Mahgoub (The secretary General of the Sudanese Communist Party), Joseph Garang (Garang was the first black lawyer in the Sudan and he should not be confused with John Garang), Alshafi Ahmed Elshikh, Babkir Elnour and Hashim Elatta. You should note that it was these members of the communist party that had brought him into power. They also helped him organise a successful counter-coup when he was temporarily overthrown in 1971. Here in Uganda where you were mentored I want you to remember very well. The assassinations of politicians like former chief justice Ben Kiwanuka, Oboth Ofumbi, GW Kalema, and so on did not help the regime of Iddi Amin we all know how he ended. Neither did the mysterious assassinations of NRA Commanders Ahmed Seguya, Sam Magala, Kaggwa ‘the giant’, of my father commander Prince Fred Nkuranga Rubereza, and of my uncle in Gulu late captain Prince David Ndayondi. And the assassination of Dr. Andrew Lutakome Kayiira, Smith Opon Acak, Edidian Babumba Luttamaguzi and so on were acts of cowardice which have no relevance in the real world.
Africa lost the talent of Dr. Kwame Nkrumah because of his intolerance to political opposition. Nkrumah’s megalomania led him into political oblivion. The incarceration and eventual death in prison of his arch political rival Dr Danquah turned many Ghanaians against Nkrumah. His introduction and excessive use of the Preventive Detention Act did not help him it instead created resentment amongst the population of that country. The assassination attempt on his life at Kulungugu (famously known in Ghana as the Kulungugu incident) was a desperate attempt by some members of the population to fight back and restore their dignity. Economic development goes vis-à-vis with democracy. You may ask why China is developing on such a rate economically when there are no elections. The answer is: there is democracy within the Chinese Communist Party; it democratically elects its leaders. To achieve democracy on a macro level we have to democratise the parties first. This is what is lacking in Africa more especially with the African revolutionary parties excluding the ANC in South Africa and to the lesser extent CCM in Tanzania. Most ‘revolutionary’ parties in Africa are nothing other than dictatorial and corrupt institutions of repression and oppression that do not live beyond the death or retirement of their founding presidents a good example is UNIP of Dr Kenneth Kaunda of Zambia. Chances are very minimal that the NRM as a revolutionary party in Uganda will survive after the departure of its founding president so will be the MPLA in Angola after the departure of president Jose Eduardo Dos Santos. It is likely that in Uganda after the demise of the NRM party president the country might break into chaos with a possible return to civil war, in Angola, a military coup is possible after the demise of president Jose Eduardo Dos Santos. The international community would like to see a stable Angola and the military is positioned to perform that role because of Angola’s significant output of petroleum products and its position as a member of OPEC. Uganda is least important due to the fact that the biggest chunk of our annual budget is donor funded therefore, the international community would not allow or support any coup. There is a limited chance that Uganda may transition into full democracy after the exit of the NRM party. International support for a coup in Uganda of any nature is unthinkable. The western world always supports coups in countries: one; where there is immense mineral wealth and it is only the coup leaders that could guarantee continuous exploitation of those minerals like the case with the DRC and Libya, or, two; when a country is of strategic importance such as Egypt.