FIRST READ:
Call to stop Rwandan aid over death threats to exiles
When Rwandan Refugees Die like rats amidst Global silence: Rwanda Journalist Shot in Kampala
http://watchmanafrica.blogspot.com/2011/12/when-rwandan-refugees-die-like-rats.html
INTERVIEW: Exiled Rwanda colonel calls for war on Kagame
http://www.observer.ug/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=9495&Itemid=59
BRITISH SECURITY AGENTS HAVE BEGUN STRIPPING KAGAME’S SPY AGENTS OF BRITISH NATIONALITY AND “REFUGEE CLAIMANT” IDENTITY PAPERS.!!!!!!!!!!!!
http://www.umuvugizi.com/?p=5354&lang=en
Kagame’s spy in Sweden granted bail .
http://www.umuvugizi.com/?p=5962&lang=enRwanda's President Paul Kagame: Visionary or Tyrant
Karegeya’s daughter caught in Rwanda-Uganda passport fix
By TABU BUTAGIRA
Posted Monday, July 16 2012 at 01:00
Posted Monday, July 16 2012 at 01:00
In Summary
Paying father’s price? Ms Mbabazi says she has been caught up in the
politics surrounding her father who Rwanda accuses of involving in
subversive activities.The daughter of Col. Patrick Karegeya, the exiled former Rwandan spymaster, is stranded in Kampala after Kigali stripped her of citizenship and Uganda hurriedly withdrew an alternative passport a week after issuing it.
Portia Mbabazi Karegeya, 23, told this newspaper in an interview last week that Ugandan Immigration officials at Entebbe airport confiscated her Rwandan passport when she flew in from Kigali on June 5.
She was informed Rwanda had cancelled her passport, rendering it invalid for travel.
Ms Mbabazi says she has been caught up in the politics surrounding her father, who now lives in exile in South Africa, but who is wanted in Kigali over alleged criminal offences.
“I am stranded here; I know it is because of politics,” she said. “All I want is to be allowed to go and study.”
Maj. Gen. Frank Mugambagye, the Rwandan High Commissioner to Kampala, last evening declined to discuss the issue and referred this newspaper back to immigration officials.
“I have nothing to know about her and I cannot track all Rwandans coming here,” he said by telephone.
Details of the matter remain scanty. Ms Mbabazi said several people, including prominent journalist Andrew Mwenda, have tried to persuade her to agree to fly out back to South Africa on temporary travel documents.
Mr Mwenda denied the claim in a telephone interview with this newspaper last evening.
“She is lying,” he said, and blamed her for applying for a refugee status while in South Africa yet she held Rwandan citizenship.
Mr Mwenda said a “key person” in the Rwandan government, whom he did not name, told him that Kigali had cautioned Ms Mbabazi, among other exiled Rwandans, not to seek refugee status since they would automatically lose their citizenship.
“You cannot eat your cake and have it,” he said.
Uganda’s Immigration spokesperson Eunice Kisembo said she is not aware of Ms Mbabazi’s tribulations. “What I know is that it is not abnormal to withdraw a travel document either on Interpol notice or for purposes of investigations into how it was acquired,” she said.
Available information indicates that after the cancellation of her Rwanda passport, Ugandan authorities issued Ms Mbabazi a passport on June 20, but seized it again at Entebbe airport on July 2, as she attempted to fly out using it by South African airways to Johannesburg.
“I was sure [the decision to confiscate the travel document] was a mistake because I had used the same names and hadn’t lied,” Ms Mbabazi said. She missed the flight that fateful day and after a reported 11-hour ordeal at the airport, Immigration officials allegedly told her Rwanda had reinstated her passport, and she needed to surrender the Ugandan one since possessing both would be “irregular”.
Interpol officials in Kampala reportedly questioned her to establish the circumstances under which she obtained a Ugandan passport. Asked why Ugandan did not promptly deport Ms Mbabazi on arrival at Entebbe airport since she had no valid travel document, Ms Kisembo said: “If she has roots here, we cannot declare her as inadmissible”.
Ms Mbabazi’s paternal grandmother, whom she had come to visit, still lives in Mbarara, which the Karegeyas consider their second home. With Uganda and Rwanda mending fences, officials in both countries have been keen to distance themselves from dissident officials from either country. In this case it has left Ms Mbabazi, who qualifies to be a citizen in both countries, belonging to none.
Unable to leave Uganda, she is likely to lose her place to study a master degree in law at McGill University in Quebec, Canada, from September.
tbutagira@ug.nationmedia.com
Karegeya’s daughter blamed for passport mix
By Nelson Wesonga
Posted Wednesday, July 18 2012 at 01:00
Posted Wednesday, July 18 2012 at 01:00
Ms Eunice Kisembo, the spokesperson for the Immigration Department, said when they established that Ms Mbabazi’s parents were Rwandan nationals, and not Ugandans as the applicant initially claimed, the department promptly withdrew the travel document issued on June 20.
“She erroneously applied for a Ugandan passport, claiming that her parents were Ugandans and from Banyankole tribe in Mbarara District, Ms Kisembo said during a telephone interview on Monday.
She added: “We have confirmed that she is a registered refugee in South Africa.”
South African case
Ugandan Immigration officials say it is incumbent upon the South African High Commission in Kampala to issue the stranded Mbabazi with a conventional travel document if she is to fly back South Africa where Col. Karegeya has sought asylum.
Ms Kisembo said the initial “erroneous” issuance of a Ugandan passport to Ms Mbabazi did not automatically bestow upon her the Ugandan citizenship.
Asked on Sunday why immigrations allowed Ms Mbabazi, who flew in from South Africa, to enter Uganda despite knowing that Rwanda had cancelled her passport, Ms Kisembo said then because she has roots here, they could not declare her “inadmissible”.
Ms Mbabazi says she was born in Uganda and attended school here for a few years before going to Rwanda.
nwesonga@ug.nationmdia.com
Call to stop Rwandan aid over death threats to exiles
2 August 2011
Last updated at 04:42 GMT
The UK
should withdraw aid from Rwanda
if its government is threatening opponents living here, says the former Foreign
Office Minister Kim Howells.
The UK is Rwanda's biggest direct aid donor, giving £83m a year.
The Rwandan High Commissioner in London has dismissed the allegations as "bogus".
Earlier this year two Rwandans living in London received warnings from the Metropolitan Police that the Rwandan government posed an imminent threat to their lives.
The two men, Jonathan Musonera and Rene Mugenzi, have been openly critical of Rwandan President Paul Kagame, who has been in power since establishing peace after the 1994 genocide.
Jonathan Musonera is a founding member of the Rwanda National Congress, an organisation launched last year in opposition to President Kagame's government, which is accused of carrying out human rights abuses, and suppressing political freedom.
The Metropolitan police warnings are bogus, baseless and
absolutely untrue”
Ernest Rwamucyo Rwandan High Commissioner
The BBC has now identified a third UK resident who has also been notified
of a similar threat. This third man, Noble Marara, says he is aware of two
others who have also been warned of danger, suggesting at least five Rwandans
may be at risk.
Mr Marara believes he is in danger because he gave evidence to a French judicial enquiry that was detrimental to Mr Kagame.
Since arriving in the UK in 2005, Mr Marara has moved house more than seven times, and changed his car three times. He will not eat in restaurants for fear of being poisoned.
"I stay away from the Rwandese community," he says. "I may speak to them, but not meet them or show my address, and I cook for myself because I cannot trust anybody - that's for sure.
"Many people have been poisoned."
Since receiving the warning that his life is in danger, Jonathan Musonera has doubled the locks on his door, changed his daily routine, and forbidden his wife and daughter to leave the house unaccompanied.
"I was very scared. The Rwandan government, they can use anything, they can use anyone."
The British government is a strong supporter of Rwanda, and one of its biggest direct aid donors - giving the country £83m a year.
Network of spies
Police letter warning that "the Rwandan government
poses an imminent threat to your life"
Paul Rusesabagina of Hotel Rwanda fame was honoured for sheltering more than 1,000 Rwandans during the genocide.
Now living in exile, he has become one of President Kagame's most high-profile critics. While he welcomes the humanitarian aid provided by the international community, he argues that Britain is wrong to give the Rwandan government direct financial support:
"My message to the British people, the British administration would be to stop what they call direct aid, this money injected into nation's budgets.
"Since the UK is among the few nations which are giving cash to today's Rwandan government, I would advise [them] to stop".
We take every opportunity to raise with the Rwandan
government our concerns over political space, media freedom and extra-judicial
killings”
DfID statement
The BBC understands that British ministers are taking
the death threats extremely seriously and they called in the Rwandan High
Commissioner in London,
Ernest Rwamucyo, to give an explanation.
The Foreign Office refused to comment on the outcome of those discussions, but made it clear that the UK does not tolerate such activity.
However, Mr Rwamucyo told the BBC: "We were really quite shocked and found the Metropolitan Police warnings are bogus, baseless and absolutely untrue."
"There's no way Rwanda would ever think of doing such a thing, and of all places, in the UK. We have such a strong relationship, one of confidence and trust, with the UK. We don't have any reason whatsoever to even think of doing such a thing."
Despite those denials, many of those File on 4 spoke to believe there is a network of spies at the heart of the Rwandan refugee community in Britain, and claim it includes students, asylum seekers and former Rwandan Patriotic Front soldiers.
Mr Mugenzi used to work for a refugee organisation in London and says he has seen the documents of individuals who claim to be fleeing the Rwandan government but then become fervent supporters.
'Candid relationship'
Rwandan High Commissioner Ernest Rwamucyo dismisses these allegations as pure nonsense: "There's no basis for that. Whoever is making those allegations should bring the evidence."
The International Development Minister Andrew Mitchell declined to speak to File on 4.
In a statement, the Department for International Development stressed the strength of Britain's commitment to Rwanda, pointing out that the aid given will help many of the country's poorest people.
The statement adds: "The UK-Rwanda relationship is a candid one and we raise issues where we have concerns on a regular basis and at senior levels.
"We take every opportunity to raise with the Rwandan government our concerns over political space, media freedom and extra-judicial killings.
"We continue to urge the government of Rwanda to address these issues and to bring the perpetrators of human rights abuses to justice."
File
on 4 is on BBC Radio 4
on Tuesday 2 August at 20:00 BST and Sunday 7 August at 17:00 BST. Listen again
via the BBC iPlayer or
download the podcast.
Karegeya says ‘dictators’ don’t step down, they are ‘brought down’
Jailed twice over alleged indiscipline, desertion and insubordination, PATRICK KAREGEYA was stripped of his rank of Colonel. The former Rwandan intelligence chief later fled to exile in 2007. He spoke to ROBERT MUKOMBOZI late last month about his fallout with President Kagame, escape, and life in South Africa.
Before delving into Rwandan issues, could you explain your role in the NRA rebellion?
I was born in Mbarara, Uganda, to a refugee family. I can’t remember how many primary schools I went through in Uganda. I finally earned my Bachelor of Law degree at Makerere University. It was a period of political upheaval; so, after university I started recruiting youth for NRA, but I was later arrested in June 1982 and charged with treason. I spent three years in Luzira Prison. Later, I managed to join [President] Museveni in Luweero until we finally liberated Uganda.
You were in the NRA, so how did you start planning the Rwanda liberation struggle?
It is true at the time of planning the Rwanda liberation struggle, I was an active officer in the NRA [now Uganda People’s Defence Forces]. Meetings were held at my private residence in Muyenga, Kampala. President Paul Kagame and the late Fred Rwigyema were part of those meetings, including others who are now senior leaders and army officers in the Rwandan government. At that time I was a lieutenant in military intelligence (serving as an assistant Director-Counter Intelligence in the Directorate of Military Intelligence). I was co-ordinating intelligence over a very wide area before any decision to invade Rwanda could be made. My spy network was widespread across Africa and overseas. My colleague (Paul Kagame) went to the United States for further studies and he was later informed that we had already invaded Rwanda. Museveni was very instrumental in the planning and subsequent invasion of Rwanda. He supported us and did not hamper any of our missions and agenda; he only asked for our cooperation and we were very cooperative.
What was most challenging in your career as a spy chief, especially in the struggle to liberate Rwanda?
Coordinating intelligence during war is very intricate, particularly in a scenario where you are dealing with insurgents, the perpetrators of genocide.
The government did not have structures and that means it didn’t have an intelligence structure as well. We went ahead and coordinated the return of thousands of Rwandans who had been displaced by the 1994 genocide but among them were ex-FAR and Interahamwe. The massive infiltration caught us off guard. It was very challenging but we built an intelligence structure which was very formidable and successful.
You said Museveni was very supportive but you were instrumental in killing his soldiers during the DR Congo (Kisangani) clashes between the RPA and UPDF between 1998 and 2003.
It is true I co-ordinated intelligence during that war but the DR Congo issues are very complicated. Fighting the enemy you know (the UPDF) was especially very challenging but inevitable because we had both deployed.
Now [President] Kagame says he will track you down for masterminding terrorist attacks in Kigali. What do you have to say about that?
I am actually disappointed in him. First of all, terrorism is just a political tool used by all dictators to deal with their opponents due to the weight the international community has attached to this charge. That is just blackmail.
He [Kagame] has created a lot of divisions in the army. There were wild allegations that I had problems with the Chief of General Staff [Gen. James Kabareebe] but he [Kagame] was actually the man behind all these fabricated charges of insubordination and desertion.
I remember when he [Kagame] was being called and asked where I should be jailed. Even the army wasn’t sure about which charges they should prefer against me and where I should be jailed. For all the jail terms I served in Rwanda, the army, under orders of the commander-in-chief, detained me in solitary confinement, not allowing any family member or friend to visit me, which is extreme psychological torture going by the international human rights conventions. All the orders were coming direct from Kagame.
All these are political tools that Kagame uses to silence his opponents. I have actually stopped responding to Kagame’s accusations because it is a waste of time.
We fought for the liberation of Rwanda so that Rwandans can enjoy peace and be delivered from dictatorship but we have not seen that. A dictator can never step down, they are brought down. It’s only Rwandans who can stand up now and fight for their freedom. Kagame will have his breaking point and I think it will be very soon.
There is no one who will come to save Rwandans from the dictatorship of Kagame and there is no time to fold hands. They should stand up to him and say look; we are tired, you have to go. Obviously some will lose their lives in the process but those who will die will have lost life for a worthy cause, and I am prepared to support Rwandans who want to fight the dictatorship of Paul Kagame.
How do you explain the mysterious death of Col. Rezinde in 1996 and former Internal Security Minister Seth Sendashonga on May 16, 1998, both of whom were assassinated under your watch as the Director, External Intelligence?
It is not only Col. Rezinde and Sendashonga who died mysteriously around that time. Many people, especially politicians, died under mysterious circumstances. I can’t say I don’t have information regarding those cases, but Kagame was the boss so he is in a better position to explain those assassinations and mysterious disappearances of people. Families of people who lost their relatives and friends in mysterious circumstances have the right to seek answers from Kagame and if they want they can go ahead and institute a legal measure because they have the right to know what happened. When time comes for me to present my version of information, I am prepared to do that.
Rwanda’s Prosecutor General has written to the South African government saying security and judicial organs are in possession of evidence implicating you and Lt. Gen. Nyamwasa in acts of terrorism and grenade attacks. Are you prepared for extradition?
All those are fabricated and baseless charges. They are saying we bombed Kigali but we both know this is not true, but let me remind the Rwandan government that they have no extradition treaty with South Africa. I and my colleague (Gen. Nyamwasa) are in South Africa legally. We are both lawyers and we have secured political asylum, and we are well aware that no amount of political pressure can change this fact. In fact, we have waited for the Rwandan government to take legal action but we haven’t heard anything from them. We will not even need anyone to represent us in courts of law on this matter because it is a simple case that is politically motivated. We will meet in court. There is no evidence whatsoever that links us to the bombing in Kigali.
Are you safe in South Africa after the recent attempt on Gen. Nyamwasa’s life?
We have political asylum in South Africa and we will remain here. Proximity is very important. If Kagame had remained in the United States [During the 1990-94 liberation struggle and after], he would not be the Rwanda president today.
You sneaked out of the country dramatically in November 2007, how did you beat the security?
The way I managed to slip out of the hands of Rwanda’s security apparatus is still my secret. Besides, if I reveal those details I may be blocking the way for others who want to escape from Kagame’s oppressive regime. I know of so many people in Rwanda who would want to use the same route but their day hasn’t come yet and I do not want to be their obstruction.
Robert Mukombozi is currently studying for a
master’s in Journalism and Mass Communication at Griffith University, Australia.
PROFILE: Patrick Karegeya
1960 - Born to late John Kanimba and Jane Kenshoro, a refugee Rwandan family in Mbarara district.
1982 – Graduated with a Law degree from Makerere University.
1990 - Served in the Directorate of Military Intelligence in Uganda and later became the coordinator of intelligence services for rebel RPA.
1994 - 2004 – Director General, External Intelligence in the RPA/Rwanda Defence Forces.
2004 - Serving as Rwanda Defence Forces spokesman, he was arrested and detained for “indiscipline” .
2006 – Stripped of his military rank of Colonel on July 13, 2006 by the military tribunal.
2007- Flees to exile.
. Married to Leah and they have a daughter and two sons.
INTERVIEW: Exiled Rwanda colonel calls for war on Kagame
Monday, 02 August 2010 09:19
Jailed twice over alleged indiscipline, desertion and insubordination, PATRICK KAREGEYA was stripped of his rank of Colonel. The former Rwandan intelligence chief later fled to exile in 2007. He spoke to ROBERT MUKOMBOZI late last month about his fallout with President Kagame, escape, and life in South Africa.
Before delving into Rwandan issues, could you explain your role in the NRA rebellion?
I was born in Mbarara, Uganda, to a refugee family. I can’t remember how many primary schools I went through in Uganda. I finally earned my Bachelor of Law degree at Makerere University. It was a period of political upheaval; so, after university I started recruiting youth for NRA, but I was later arrested in June 1982 and charged with treason. I spent three years in Luzira Prison. Later, I managed to join [President] Museveni in Luweero until we finally liberated Uganda.
You were in the NRA, so how did you start planning the Rwanda liberation struggle?
It is true at the time of planning the Rwanda liberation struggle, I was an active officer in the NRA [now Uganda People’s Defence Forces]. Meetings were held at my private residence in Muyenga, Kampala. President Paul Kagame and the late Fred Rwigyema were part of those meetings, including others who are now senior leaders and army officers in the Rwandan government. At that time I was a lieutenant in military intelligence (serving as an assistant Director-Counter Intelligence in the Directorate of Military Intelligence). I was co-ordinating intelligence over a very wide area before any decision to invade Rwanda could be made. My spy network was widespread across Africa and overseas. My colleague (Paul Kagame) went to the United States for further studies and he was later informed that we had already invaded Rwanda. Museveni was very instrumental in the planning and subsequent invasion of Rwanda. He supported us and did not hamper any of our missions and agenda; he only asked for our cooperation and we were very cooperative.
What was most challenging in your career as a spy chief, especially in the struggle to liberate Rwanda?
Coordinating intelligence during war is very intricate, particularly in a scenario where you are dealing with insurgents, the perpetrators of genocide.
The government did not have structures and that means it didn’t have an intelligence structure as well. We went ahead and coordinated the return of thousands of Rwandans who had been displaced by the 1994 genocide but among them were ex-FAR and Interahamwe. The massive infiltration caught us off guard. It was very challenging but we built an intelligence structure which was very formidable and successful.
You said Museveni was very supportive but you were instrumental in killing his soldiers during the DR Congo (Kisangani) clashes between the RPA and UPDF between 1998 and 2003.
It is true I co-ordinated intelligence during that war but the DR Congo issues are very complicated. Fighting the enemy you know (the UPDF) was especially very challenging but inevitable because we had both deployed.
Now [President] Kagame says he will track you down for masterminding terrorist attacks in Kigali. What do you have to say about that?
I am actually disappointed in him. First of all, terrorism is just a political tool used by all dictators to deal with their opponents due to the weight the international community has attached to this charge. That is just blackmail.
He [Kagame] has created a lot of divisions in the army. There were wild allegations that I had problems with the Chief of General Staff [Gen. James Kabareebe] but he [Kagame] was actually the man behind all these fabricated charges of insubordination and desertion.
I remember when he [Kagame] was being called and asked where I should be jailed. Even the army wasn’t sure about which charges they should prefer against me and where I should be jailed. For all the jail terms I served in Rwanda, the army, under orders of the commander-in-chief, detained me in solitary confinement, not allowing any family member or friend to visit me, which is extreme psychological torture going by the international human rights conventions. All the orders were coming direct from Kagame.
All these are political tools that Kagame uses to silence his opponents. I have actually stopped responding to Kagame’s accusations because it is a waste of time.
We fought for the liberation of Rwanda so that Rwandans can enjoy peace and be delivered from dictatorship but we have not seen that. A dictator can never step down, they are brought down. It’s only Rwandans who can stand up now and fight for their freedom. Kagame will have his breaking point and I think it will be very soon.
There is no one who will come to save Rwandans from the dictatorship of Kagame and there is no time to fold hands. They should stand up to him and say look; we are tired, you have to go. Obviously some will lose their lives in the process but those who will die will have lost life for a worthy cause, and I am prepared to support Rwandans who want to fight the dictatorship of Paul Kagame.
How do you explain the mysterious death of Col. Rezinde in 1996 and former Internal Security Minister Seth Sendashonga on May 16, 1998, both of whom were assassinated under your watch as the Director, External Intelligence?
It is not only Col. Rezinde and Sendashonga who died mysteriously around that time. Many people, especially politicians, died under mysterious circumstances. I can’t say I don’t have information regarding those cases, but Kagame was the boss so he is in a better position to explain those assassinations and mysterious disappearances of people. Families of people who lost their relatives and friends in mysterious circumstances have the right to seek answers from Kagame and if they want they can go ahead and institute a legal measure because they have the right to know what happened. When time comes for me to present my version of information, I am prepared to do that.
Rwanda’s Prosecutor General has written to the South African government saying security and judicial organs are in possession of evidence implicating you and Lt. Gen. Nyamwasa in acts of terrorism and grenade attacks. Are you prepared for extradition?
All those are fabricated and baseless charges. They are saying we bombed Kigali but we both know this is not true, but let me remind the Rwandan government that they have no extradition treaty with South Africa. I and my colleague (Gen. Nyamwasa) are in South Africa legally. We are both lawyers and we have secured political asylum, and we are well aware that no amount of political pressure can change this fact. In fact, we have waited for the Rwandan government to take legal action but we haven’t heard anything from them. We will not even need anyone to represent us in courts of law on this matter because it is a simple case that is politically motivated. We will meet in court. There is no evidence whatsoever that links us to the bombing in Kigali.
Are you safe in South Africa after the recent attempt on Gen. Nyamwasa’s life?
We have political asylum in South Africa and we will remain here. Proximity is very important. If Kagame had remained in the United States [During the 1990-94 liberation struggle and after], he would not be the Rwanda president today.
You sneaked out of the country dramatically in November 2007, how did you beat the security?
The way I managed to slip out of the hands of Rwanda’s security apparatus is still my secret. Besides, if I reveal those details I may be blocking the way for others who want to escape from Kagame’s oppressive regime. I know of so many people in Rwanda who would want to use the same route but their day hasn’t come yet and I do not want to be their obstruction.
Robert Mukombozi is currently studying for a
master’s in Journalism and Mass Communication at Griffith University, Australia.
PROFILE: Patrick Karegeya
1960 - Born to late John Kanimba and Jane Kenshoro, a refugee Rwandan family in Mbarara district.
1982 – Graduated with a Law degree from Makerere University.
1990 - Served in the Directorate of Military Intelligence in Uganda and later became the coordinator of intelligence services for rebel RPA.
1994 - 2004 – Director General, External Intelligence in the RPA/Rwanda Defence Forces.
2004 - Serving as Rwanda Defence Forces spokesman, he was arrested and detained for “indiscipline” .
2006 – Stripped of his military rank of Colonel on July 13, 2006 by the military tribunal.
2007- Flees to exile.
. Married to Leah and they have a daughter and two sons.
