COL STEVEN NDUGUTE (NDUNGUTSE) AKA, KALISOLISO.

Maj Kagame with Col Steven Ndugute 

This officer would have in reality been at the top of the military all the way in RPA ranks because after the deaths of Rwigema.

Major Baingana, Major Bunyenyezi, and Lt Col Adam Waswa, there was no one else to succeed other than Maj Ndugute who was also the senior of all.

The unexplained mystery killings of the above commanders left the only experienced and hardened commander Ndugute in line to lead the force.

From the start of the RPA 1990 invasion (before the arrival of Maj Kagame)’ RPA employed only two prongs of advance from Kagitumba; 1, Axis Gabiro through akagera national park Under Steven Ndugute and Axis Nyagatare led by Sam Kaka.

Ndugute obviously had the most challenging task because he had to capture Gabiro military base that was a stronghold of multiple forces as follows; Ex-Far battalions, Mobutu Seseko’s commandos of Goma 5th DIV/DSP, the French crew on Mechanized and ground arty and about 5000 FRODEBU Hutu recruits ready to test their skills on RPA.

After the defeat of late November 1990 to RPA by Ex-Far, it was the forces that were under then Maj Ndugute that suffered the ding-dong, commanders under him were Captain Vedaste Kayitare, and Bitamazire who lost his life at the battle near Hotel Akagera whereas other forces were forced to scatter into the national park, Maj Ndugute had a tough task of containing the enemy and regroup for an organized retreat through Tanzania.

Though he had been completely cut off from all routes of supply and had many casualties carried along with him in the park, he was able to repulse and destroy the strong mechanized/ infantry manned by both Ex-Far and French troops.  All Under Maj Rwendeye of the then Rwanda armed force (FAR) Maj Rwendeye himself lost his life in those operations.

Maj Ndugute’s forces had literary been under siege inside the park, had it not been to his highly advanced skills, and war experiences;  no one would have survived the Ex-Far Park mopping up operations as they called them.

After words, he managed to return with his forces through Tanzania, he was appointed 3rd quorum commander up until the attack of Ruhengeri in Jan, 1991, by then RPA had only 3 quorum’s under-Captain Sam Byaruhanga By this time As follows: 1st quorum-Under Capt Sam Byaruhanga. Maj Steven .Ndugute; 3rd and Dodo Twahirwa; 5th quorum.

Starting in Feb, 1991, Maj Ndugute was appointed by RPA high command to head the operations and from then on till 1994, Ndugute was responsible for organizing and directing all RPA operations.

Maj Kagame named him 21/2 OOC, Kagame himself retained the actual post of OOC doubling as the CHC/Vice Chairman of RPF.

But, in the real sense Maj Ndugute was the overall commander of RPA.
Maj Kagame was always terrified that Ndugute could one day take over due to the atrocities committed by Maj Kagame by eliminating other senior commanders since the beginning of RPA war and also due to Kagame becoming unpopular to the troops because of his ruthless manners.

Maj Kagame’s fear for Ndugute became evident in around 1993 after the le 8/3/93 Operations-that was a warning signal to Kigali regime that RPA was mature enough to organise such a successful operation. Maj Kagame on realizing RPA’s growth and capability built by comrades like Maj Ndugute and other hard working commanders, he started grooming his escorts and acquaintances whom would occupy the top positions of the military, come time to advance to Kigali.

He started shading Maj Ndugute and other senior commanders’ reputations within the RPA, calling them names, beating them in meetings and finding faults on each of them every now and then, however Maj Ndugute was among the few that Maj Kagame never managed to beat, he always challenged Maj Kagame’s nosesnse.
As these cliques he was forming became more open, and some commanders were sick with it. He had a fear that Ndugute could benefit from a number of commanders who had become very loyal to him, mainly originally from  Bugesera worriors,  Kagame believed that the above new bleed commanders may  change the state of affairs to install Maj Ndugute to the top job.

By 1993, Kagame had already become a tyrant who was power hungry, and had built a circle of hyenas around him (call them escorts), who could tear, or do character assassination on anyone who dared show dissent to the kagame clique.

Maj Kagame harassed Ndugute in everything he did until the later became depressed and also was treating all other senior commanders like there were nonentity, almost as worthless.

 

He had already groomed his personal army that comprised of escorts and acquaintances mostly from former intelligence officers from Kampala including;

Kayumba Nyamwasa, Nyanvumba Patrick, Gen Karenzi Karake, Gen Kayizari Ceaser, Bagabo, Nziza and Escorts and news interpreters such as Kazura, Kayonga and Kabarebe, and others.

Some of Kaagame’s then body guards Mugisha Pepekale, Happy Ruvusha, James Kabarebe, Alex Kagame, Kyoga, Charles Kayonga and John Gasana sitting forward.

Maj Kagame immediately made replacement Maj Ndugute in around 1993 and 1994 before the commencement of operations for assaulting Kigali.
Plans to eliminate him had been underway since 93 just like Vedaste Kayitare but there was no opportunity, he was eventually injected a poisonous injection when went for malaria treatment and he died in 1997, he died poor depressed and disgruntled.

 

After his death, the only house he had to help his extended family survive, was re-sold by Kagame’s Government

Colonel Steven Ndugute’s Military Career started in the Ugandan Army, during Gen Iddi Amin’s regime

(UA) 1972-1979.
Lt and first C.O of UA Marine Unit in Bugolobi

FEDEMU; 1981-1985
Overall Field commander

NRA; 1985-1990.

RPA; 1990-1993
2 1/c OOC

BDE CO 310 BDE
Col Wilson Rutayisire alias Shaban

A well trusted and great pan Africanist, political-military cadre who did a great job for both Uganda and Rwanda in their struggles of Liberation, he helped draft the codes of conducts that guided the Liberation struggles and later advised on the way to talk peace during the peace talks in both struggles and helped the new governments’ parliaments (Ug &Rw) on making some amendments to the respective constitutions.
He was a close person to Maj Kagame because of his role and capability in political advisement and being a visionary man until around 1997 when Kagame unreached openly his thirst of ousting Bizimungu from presidency.

 

After Kagame brought the Idea of destroying the RPF president kick him out of power, Col Rutayisire and some others advised him not to, he detailed the ramifications for doing such a stupid act.

He always wanted Rwanda to take roots of democracy by first respecting and upholding the Arusha peace accord but Kagame fell out with him and a few others that shared the same good ideas for the way forward.
Eventually Rutayisire was shut down and as usual Kagame started frustrating him as it is his tactics/methods of oppression to the dissenters.

When Kagame waged war of minerals to Ugandan troops in Kisangani/ DRC, he replaced Major Furuma with Col Shaban Rutayisire as his special envoy in the mineral region.

First and foremost, Col Rutayisire like many others  had opposed the Congo war from the beginning, citing the catastrophe it will bring with it to the region as a whole(first hand info), under all circumstances it was un necessary war.

Now sending him to the region was meant to oversee rebel functions supported by Rwanda and Uganda for the purpose plundering (DRC) Congo, was already a mockery, an insult and a punishment to this revolutionary and pan Africanist.
He kept sharing his views on how the war between the sister countries could be resolved immediately and to abandon the Congo war once and for all.

Amidst the Kisangani skirmishes between Rwanda and Ugandan troops over gold, he made calls forth and back both to Uganda and Rwanda while in Goma to try bring both sides to terms of ceasing fire and talk peace immediately.

But when he mentioned the names of some Ugandan officials he had talked to, and the ideas shared, Kagame thought that Museveni was using him to take him over in Rwanda.

Kagame has that paranoia of distrusting everybody who tries to correct him and later act independently like Col Shaban Rutayisire did talk to officials in Uganda when there was a need to do so.
It’s in the middle of this mediation and a call peace talks to both sides that; Kagame sent Kabarebe and some other two senior officers to Kill Rutayisire in Goma DRC.

They first shared a drink, Gen Kabarebe failed to put the poison in Rutayisire’s drink as he kept an eye and held on it and so when he left to sleep in his room, was shot in the head by the then Major Mulisa, and declared that he had  short himself (committed suicide).

Noble Marara